Magetale
by KiriMina
Summary: When Flowey decides not to tell Frisk about a 'better ending', Frisk leaves the underground to try to find a way to free the monsters, promising to return when they are able. When Sans receives a call from Frisk four years later, she tells him she's coming back within a week, but not before someone else drops in. (M for language and possible sin later, F!Frisk, SansXOC)
1. The Promise

**~('▼')~ Oh god it's happening. A note, this is the first fanfic I've posted anywhere, so a bit nervous. But I welcome the reviews!While this is mainly a Sans story, most of the other characters will make apperances, and several of them play vital parts throughout the fic. Currently there are only two OCs added in, but at least two more will show up later on. That being said...Undertale belongs to Toby Fox, the fic and OCs belong to me.**

-The Promise-

* _A cellphone rings, the owner misses the call. The caller decides to leave a message.*_

 _'Hey...Is anyone there? I'll just leave a message then.' The caller said, chuckling a little before continuing. 'So...It's been a while. The queen returned, and is now ruling over the underground. She enstated a new policy, all the humans who fall here will be treated not as enemies, but as friends. It's probably for the best, anyway. The human souls the king gathered...Seem to have disappeared. So, uh, that plan ain't happening any time soon.' With a sigh, he continues once more. 'Even though people are heartbroken over the king...And things are looking grim for our freedom...The queen's trying her best not to let us give up hope. So uh, hey. If we're not giving up down here...' He pauses again, trying to sound cheerful. 'Don't give up wherever you are, ok? Who knows how long it will take, but we'll get out of -' As he is speaking, another familiar voice starts yelling in the background. 'SANS!'_

 _So many familiar voices leave messages on the phone, when Sans finally gets the phone back, he notes that his is almost out of power. He gives another familiar chuckle before speaking. 'So, hate to cut this short, but...Be seeing you, okay buddy?'_

 _A few hours later in the Underground, Sans' phone began to ring, the lazy skeleton not noticing as he was napping. When he woke up, he found a message recorded on his phone._

 _'Sans? It's me, Frisk! I'm sorry, I missed your call earlier. I know it's only been a few weeks, but I really miss you guys. Hey...I might not be able to talk to anyone in the Underground for a while, the place where I'm going to be living...Well, they have issues with a little kid like me having a phone, especially one with all the things Alphys installed on it, haha!' Frisk laughed, sighing after a moment. 'I really do miss you guys. Even though I'm up here, you guys are my family now, so...I promise, I'll come back and figure out how to free everyone. It might take me a while to come back, but I will. I swear I'll come back, Sans!' Frisk said, Sans almost being able to feel the determination in every word. Before Frisk could continue, another voice could be heard calling for her. 'I...I have to go, Sans...But I promise, no matter what, I'll come back. I will make things right.'_


	2. Chapter 1 - Drop on in

_**Yes I realize. It's long compared to a lot of stories I see on here. I thought about splitting it up, but I like longer chapters ~('v')~**_

 _*Undertale and all of the characters original to the game belong to Toby Fox, but Fox and Mina belong to me!*_

 _* 'Italics' is though. "Italics" is a flashback. **Bold Italics** is usually a pun.*_

 _-Chapter One-_

It had been a few years since Frisk left the underground, and for most of the residents, life had returned to normal. As per usual, Sans was napping at home on the couch, having returned from another patrol run, or walk in his case. That was probably the one thing that had been the biggest change for him, voluntarily going on patrols to the ruins to see if anyone had fallen down. Of course, he knew who he wanted to find there, but every day since he had started these patrols had been the same. There was never anyone in the ruins, aside from the monsters that still lived there.

Since he had to pass through the ruins daily, and since he literally had to walk through Toriel's former house there, he'd gotten accustomed to taking a lunch break there. The only real reason for the lunch break, lunch aside, was that he would make the same patrol up to three times a day. If the slightest thing seemed off in the ruins, he'd head home, leave a note for Paps and head back out to the ruins. That had been his plan today, as well, before he had tripped over something and landed on the couch.

It wasn't that their house was messy, Papyrus made sure to clean almost daily since it was now three of them living there. The little white dog that seemed to plague Papyrus's life before had grown on them both, Frisk having given it the nickname of 'Toby' when she first encountered it. Toby, the little devil, had taken it upon himself to make sure Sans kept his sock collection out of reach...Though now the dog had started leaving Pap's action figures around the house, in more or less the same condition he found them in. It was one of those action figures that Sans had tripped over today, but rather than getting upset, Sans took it as a sign to nap.

" **SANS!** " Sans awoke with a start, groaning ever so quietly as he realized why his brother was shouting louder than usual. " **THAT ANNOYING DOG STOLE ONE OF MY ACTION FIGURES AGAIN, HAVE YOU SEEN IT?** "

"Sticking out from under the couch, bro." Sans sighed, pushing himself up to sit and looking at his phone for the time. "Well, that nap lasted longer than...Huh?" He tilted his head, noticing a small blinking envelope on the screen. Realizing he had a message, he sighed and decided to listen to it, knowing it was probably another message from Alphys or Undyne. With Papyrus yelling at the dog a few feet away, and he himself barely being awake, it was hard for him to hear anything from his phone... But as soon as he heard the voice on the other end, his free hand snapped up and separated his brother and Toby. "CHILL PAPS!"

"... **BROTHER WHY** -" Paps stopped himself when he saw the intense look on Sans' face, blinking a few times and realizing that something was different. Why was Sans' left eye glowing, why was his hand glowing, and more importantly, Paps wondered...Why was he floating in the air with Toby?

Meanwhile, Sans was doing his best to replay the message, using only his right hand to operate his phone. Having missed most of it due to all the shouting and barking, he had only caught the very end of the message, but he was sure of what he had heard. Finally, the message started playing again, Sans listening intently as Papyrus 'quietly' started to freak out over his current situation.

' _Hey Sans! Uhm...It's me, Frisk! I know I sound older, but it's been...Oh wow...Four years...It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry I haven't been able to call anyone in so long, I had a bit of...Well, a bit of a bad time, I guess you could say. I'll tell you all about it when I get back to the Underground, I should be there in a few days, a week at most. Oh, don't tell anyone okay? I want to surprise them, especially Papyrus and Toriel! Told you I'd be coming home again, can't wait to see everyone! I've got to go now, the bus is here. Talk to you soon, Sans!'_

"Heh...Heheh." Sans chuckled a bit, letting his magic fade and letting a somewhat terrified Papyrus and Toby back down to the floor. It took him a moment to realize the room was still silent, turning his head and spotting Paps with a blank look on his face. "Oh, eheh...Sorry, Pap. You okay? You're so quiet over there." He paused, realizing Pap had never seen his magic before and deciding to try to difuse the tension in his usual way. "One could even say that you're being-"

" **SANS DO NOT FINISH THAT-** "

" _ **Dead Quiet**_." Sans snickered, Papyrus's teeth grinding together as he glared at his brother. " **OH MY GOD SANS WHY!? NO, FORGET IT, TELL ME WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! WHO WAS ON THE PHONE?** "

"Just a message, Pap." Sans smiled, quickly deleting the message just before Pap could grab his phone to inspect the number, or possibly hear the message. "Sorry bro, but this is top secret."

" **...FINE, BUT WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! I WAS ABOUT TO CHASTISE THAT ANNOYING DOG AND YOU.** " Papyrus paused, handing the phone back to his brother and crossing his arms. He was going to get one answer at least, Sans couldn't sneak out of this. " **...I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU DID, BUT YOU DID IT!** "

"I just used some magic, it's not a big deal. Anyway, did your action figure survive Toby's jaws of destruction?" Sans asked, glancing past his brother and trying not to laugh as he spotted said dog gnawing on the stolen action figure. "Uh, Pap..."

" **SANS, YOU'VE NEVER USED...WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING A-** " Papyrus started to ask, turning as he did and almost instantly changing his focus back to Toby." **A-...OH MY GOD NOT AGAIN! UNHAND THAT ACTION FIGURE!** "

While Papyrus was distracted, Sans took the opportunity to teleport out of the house, taking his phone with him. He knew Frisk had said not to tell anyone, but he felt like he had to at least let one person know. If he told Paps, the entire Underground would know by morning. Alphys was out of the question, as Undyne would find out and the same thing would happen. That left very few people he could tell. Grillbys was too crowded for him to tell the fiery bartender, Mettaton...Well, Mettaton would tell Paps or Alphys, or announce it on his evening broadcast.

He thought for a moment about telling Toriel, since in so many timelines, this one included, she had always been a mother to Frisk. She had been so busy recently, though, and he knew she would worry herself sick if she knew Frisk was coming home within the next week, chuckling a bit to himself as he imagined her trying to clean the entire castle and baking pie after pie trying to create a perfect 'welcome home' pie. Honestly, he didn't want to bother her, rather he'd let her be surprised and overjoyed at the return of her child.

Since he couldn't find anyone to tell, or really think of anyone off the top of his head, he decided to go on what was now a useless patrol to the ruins. On the way out of Snowdin he spotted Monster Kid, though he could hardly be called a kid anymore. Sans thought back to the sound of Frisk's voice in the message, shaking his head a bit and chuckling. "Well, I guess I should have expected her to sound different, humans age too...Huh...I can't remember how old she was, I don't think any of us asked back then. She can't be older than him though, right?" He asked himself, stopping for a moment and shouting to get Kid's attention. "Hey, Kid! How old are you now, my memory is kinda fuzzy."

"Oh, hey Sans!" Kid yelled, almost losing his balance as he used his tail as a chair. "Uhh..I turned 16 this year, why?" He asked, grinning a bit in an attempt to imitate his eternal idol, Undyne. "Where are you going anyway, another patrol?"

"Ehh, just curious. Later." Sans said, waving back as he started back on his path towards the ruins. It didn't take him long to realize he wasn't alone. "..Need something, Kid?"

"Dude, you said I could come next time, and it's next time now." Kid chuckled, running a few steps ahead of the now sighing skeleton and turning to face him, walking backwards with very few issues. "So what's so special about the ruins anyway?"

"Some people I know used to live there, so I keep an eye on the house for them. And , y'know. Check for any humans who might have fallen down here, like Frisk." Sans stated, smiling a bit at the end. He thought about telling Kid, but decided not to when he saw the kid slip and fall backwards at the mention of Frisk. "So, how's the weather down there?"

"DUDE, DO NOT TELL UNDYNE I TRIPPED ALRIGHT?! She'll make me repeat all that balance training for a FIFTH TIME!" Kid shouted as he righted himself, shaking some snow from his head and tail. "a-Anyway, sounds boring...You're basically just going to sit there and wait, or what?"

"Ehh, maybe. I might take another nap, who knows." Sans shrugged, deciding to test his hunch. "That reminds me...You started all that training right after Frisk left, didn't you?"

"..s-So what if I did?" Kid replied nervously, not making eye contact with the skeleton. He had heard plenty of times about Sans making sure some other monsters had a 'bad time' if they mocked or said anything off-color about his friends, he had even heard Undyne say she wouldn't want to fight him once.

"Trying to impress her when she comes back, eh?" And right on cue, Kid tripped again. "Thought so. You're a good guy though, Kid, so I'm going to trust you."

Kid let out a muffled 'thanks' and righted himself again tilting his head as he and Sans caught sight of the door to the ruins. "Do you think she'll ever come back? It's been a long time..." He sighed, noticing Sans had stopped a few feet behind him. "Sans?"

"Huh...I don't remember leaving the door to the ruins open." Sans scratched the back of his skull, closing his eyes for a moment. "I was really tired though, so I probably did leave it open. Here's the deal, Kid. I won't tell Undyne about your little slip-ups, if you don't tell her or Paps about mine, alright?"

"Uh..Sure, dude." Kid chuckled, lolling his head to one side as he closed his eyes. "Your bro would get mad if he knew you left Toby out here anyway, right?"

"...What?"

"There's paw prints leading all the way there, on the side of the path." Kid pointed out, motioning with his tail. "Right behind the tree line."

"Kid, Toby is back at my house with Paps, he's on his lunch break fighting with the little furball." Sans stated, glancing at the prints in the snow. They certainly looked like Toby's paw prints, but they were fresh. So unless Paps had thrown the dog out and he had ran ahead of them, these didn't belong to Toby.

"Didn't he just run inside the door?" Kid asked, becoming a bit wary as Sans walked ahead of him. "Hey, don't leave me back here!" He shouted, surprised when Sans started to actually run. "Dude where's the fire?!"

Something wasn't right here, something felt off about the whole place as soon as Sans stepped into the ruins. Kid had been right, there had been paw prints outside, but there had also been a few small spots where the snow had been muddy. Muddy paw prints lined the floor of the hallway as well, and that was what Sans didn't understand. While Toby did like to dig, he never dug all the way down to the ground. The paw prints continued throughout the hallway, all the way up the stairs leading into Toriel's former house. Once inside the house, a quick look around brought a thought to Sans. If Toby wasn't here, then something else had dug down through the snow and hit dirt...Or something had tunneled up through the dirt, and Sans could only think of one creature that could do that.

"Sans wait up already!" Kid was panting as he finally caught up to the skeleton, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to catch his breath. "Jeez, I didn't know you could actually-" He paused, opening an eye, then the other eye and blinking as he looked around the now empty room. "...SAAAAANS! WHAT THE HELL MAN DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!"

Now it was Sans's turn to be out of breath, having teleported almost to the final room in the ruins. He remembered Frisk mentioning that this was the room where she first started out in the underground, and also where she had met her first monster. While he was used to it being cold outside the ruins, it wasn't normal for it to be this cold so deep in the ruins. Peering around the corner into the final room, Sans froze for a moment. When he had been here this morning, there had been golden flowers everywhere, just as there always had been. Now, though, the flowers had all but wilted, and a heavy blanket of snow covered the ground beneath the hole that lead to the surface. There was some mud around the edges of the room, but it had all but frozen solid at this point.

Looking around the room, he felt his heart stop, spotting what looked to be a backpack half buried in the muddy snow. A little ways away, he could just barely make out a figure hidden in the snow, the only reason he had spotted it to begin with was because it made a faint groaning sound. Instantly, the tired skeleton made a mad dash over and started shoving the snow aside. "Frisk!? Hang on, Frisk!" In his frantic state, he hadn't heard Kid shouting as he finally reached the same room, but he was definitely glad when Kid suddenly started brushing snow away with his tail. "Took you long enough!"

"I heard you yelling for Frisk, i-is this her?! What happened?!" Kid was on the verge of having a panic attack, a sudden sound causing him to freeze in place as Sans finally uncovered the snow-covered figure. "Sanssomethingis-"

"Frisk?" Sans let out a relieved sigh, seeing the human was still breathing. "Must be winter up there for you to be wearing a coat like this, buddy." He chuckled nervously, carefully rolling the human over. He fully expected it to be Frisk, finding himself speechless as a face he didn't recognize at all was revealed. It was definitely a human, and it was definitely a girl, but it wasn't Frisk.

Until that point, Sans hadn't heard the growling, glancing up and suddenly finding a ball of brown and white fur flying towards his face from behind the human. Thinking fast, he ducked his head, almost dropping the girl as he did. Sure enough, the furball flew past him and turned its attention on Kid, who was looking a bit dumbfounded. "...Dude you're afraid of this yappy little thing?" He chuckled, the creature, he guessed it was a dog of some sort, running in circles between him and Sans, barking incessantly. "It's all muddy...Well, I guess that answers one thing...So uh...Who's this?"

"Your guess is as good as...Mine..." Sans trailed off, blinking slowly and noticing something as he sat up. When he had ducked, his head had quite literally pressed against the human's neck. Whoever she was, he had thought she was asleep, but here she was looking right back at him with an obviously fearful look in her eyes. "Uh...Hey there, buddy, you alri-" Before he could continue, he could feel the girl trying to push herself away from him, tears in her eyes hitting him like a knife, as they reminded him of the times Frisk had cried when they had fought in the judgement hall. "h-Hey, you're alright, we're not-"

"s-Stay away...Please, not again." The girl spoke, if you could call it that. Her voice was so quiet that both monsters could barely hear her. She winced as Sans helped her sit up, managing to scoot back a mere few inches to try to get away from the both of them. "n-Not again, please...f-Fox, Fox where are you?"

"Again?" Sans repeated, frowning a bit as he started to guess at what had happened. Hearing the girl asking for Fox, he could only assume she meant the little dog, scooping up the angry little thing in one hand and holding it out towards her. "This thing yours?"

"p-Please don't hurt her, she...She didn't mean to scare your friend." The girl pleaded, blinking slowly as the yapping down slowly settled down and wagged her tail, despite being held by a she reached out to take her, though, Sans promptly pulled the pup away. "p-Please..."

"What friend are you talking about, first. 'cause judging by Kid's reaction, I don't think she scared him." Sans frowned, noticing something and reaching towards the girl with his free hand. Her coat was similar to his, though it was definitely a few sized too big for her. That wasn't a bad thing though, since it meant it was looser and the hood didn't fit snugly, which also meant it was harder to miss little things like a scratch on the cheek. He thought the girl would recoil or try to bat his hand away, seeing as he was one of the first monsters she'd seen, and a skeleton at that. When she didn't, he pushed her hood back, very carefully turning her head to look at the scratch. "Let me guess. Little yellow flower, really bad attitude?"

"y-Yes. i-I..." The girl whined, her voice fading as she simply sat there and shook. it was hard to tell if it was from the cold, or just from the sheer terror she felt.

"...No offense, sweetheart, but that little bastard is the farthest thing from a friend to anyone here. Don't believe a word it says." Sans sighed, blinking as the little dog...Fox, wasn't that what the human called it? Started growling quietly. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Here, go see your human." He chuckled, carefully dropping the pup and smiling a bit as it lept onto the girl's chest. "That's a ferocious little beast you've got there."

"Pffft..." Kid chimed in, crouching next to Sans and the human. "Dude, that thing is the furthest possible from ferocious." He said jokingly, jumping back when the pup turned and snapped at him. "Hey watch it you litt-oOH!" Kid tripped, once again, only this time he tripped over Sans' outstretched leg. "OH COME ON SANS!"

"That's what you get for tagging along on a winter _**Trip**_. Maybe you should have just gone...In _**Fall**_." Sans grinned, turning to look at Kid but keeping the girl in the corner of his eye. It was a lame set of puns, but at least a few people he knew would have laughed. That wasn't the case with this stranger though, all she did was cling to that little dog and hide her face, the shaking a clear indicator that she was either too terrified to look, or half frozen. "Uh...So, like this guy here already announced, I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton. He's Kid, by the way."

Even with the introduction, the girl didn't seem willing to look at them, or move at all. Furrowing his brow a bit, Sans sighed, deciding to try something that may or may not result in him getting mauled by a small dog or laughed at by a teenager. Nodding to himself, he quickly reached out and grabbed Fox away from the girl, elicting a surprised gasp from her and gaining her full attention. "p-Please now, I-" The girl started to speak blinking when Sans turned the dog around to face her and held it up in front of his face.

"I don't think these guys are all that bad." Sans said in the girliest voice he could muster, his cheeks flushing a bit as Kid snickered at him. "Come on, throw them a bone, they're being nice!" He said, using his fingers to wave Fox's front paws around while the little dog yawned. She wasn't amused, but she wasn't biting him at least.

The girl obviously didn't know how to react, blinking slowly as she spotted a bit of color on the skeleton's face when she looked past her dog. "...a-Are...You two really...n-Not friends of that flower?"

"Dude, the only flowers I ever see are the Echo flowers, and they're kinda rooted in place." Kid huffed, glancing around the room as Sans continued trying to make the little dog dance. "I mean, I've heard about the ones in here, but...They all kinda look like they're on their way out. Never heard of one talking."

"It's okay, I don't think that flower will come back here any time soon. If he does..." Sans paused, grinning a little behind his furry face-shield. "He's gonna have...A _**Ruff**_ time." He chuckled, blinking as he felt something touch one of his fingers. Realizing the girl was trying to take Fox back, he simply smiled and let her take the dog, placing his hands in his jacket pockets.

"...f-Fox...Did not like that flower. She was growling when it appeared, and she attacked it after..." The girl hung her head a little, holding Fox against her chest with one arm and placing a few fingers against her cheek. "...i-It said it wanted to help me..."

"Like I said, don't believe a word that prickly little bastard says. He tried this on a friend of mine a long time ago." Sans muttered, glancing up through the hole in the ceiling. "...How did you even survive a fall like that...Hell, is that how Frisk got here, too?"

"Uhm...You...Keep saying that name...Is this Frisk person your...Friend?"

"Oh dude, that's right. Sans, why were you calling for Frisk when we were digging this girl out?" Kid chimed in, staring expectantly at the back of Sans' head. "Why would you think this girl was Frisk?"

"Uhh..." Sans blinked. Well. He couldn't exactly lie about it right now, not after the scene he'd made. "Look, it's supposed to be a secret, alright? Frisk called while I was napping earlier an-"

"d-DID YOU TALK TO HER? HOW IS SHE?" Kid literally exploded with excitement at the news of Frisk calling Before he could shout another question though, he caught a flicker of blue in his vision. His face went blank as a wall of snow slammed into his face, knocking him down once more.

"Calm down Kid, you're scaring...Uh, right, we don't know your name yet...Heh." Sans chuckled, turning his attention back to their nameless guest. Noticing she was still shaking and had closed her eyes, he sighed and stood up, using his magic once again. This time though, he picked up the girl and the backpack, proceeding to walk back through the ruins while the somewhat confused girl curled up nervously in the air. "It's just magic, don't let it scare you too much. The cold doesn't bother me or Kid that much, we're used to it...You though, look like you're going to become an ice sculpture at any moment, so we're gonna head someplace a bit warmer."

"...a-About this...Frisk person..." The girl started to speak having to stop as she started sneezing. "s-Sorry..."

"It's fine. I'll explain when we get to Tori's place." Sans waved his free hand back towards the girl closing his eyes as he walked. "Go ahead and rest a bit."

It wasn't too long before the three of them, four if you count Fox, arrived at Toriel's old home, the mystery girl having fallen asleep on the way there. Sans figured she was probably too cold to stay awake, or was exhausted by whatever she had endured before he and Kid had arrived. He had noted that her jacket was covered in small rips and tears, the padding and lining had started to become drenched in melting snow. After getting her jacket off, he had made sure to check her over quicky for any injuries aside from the one on her cheek, having sent Kid to get some blankets for her before hand. She was bruised on her arms and legs, but only around her wrists and ankles, so Sans didn't see any reason to check the rest of her body. It would have been way too hard for him to explain if she had woken up, anyway.

Half an hour passed, the girl wrapped up in blankets and still sleeping in Toriel's old chair by the fireplace. Once they had gotten inside and turned the lights on, Sans and Kid were able to see this girl's features much better. At first Sans had thought she just had very light hair, blonde maybe, but oh how wrong he was. Rather than blonde her hair was a pale silver color, and it was much longer than he had first though, reaching almost down to her hips. Her skin was a bit lighter than Frisk's skin tone had been, and from what he had seen her eyes were a dark shade of blue. She almost reminded him of one of those magical girls from one of Alphys' 'Human History' videos.

As he pondered about the curious newcomer, he heard Kid clear his throat, glancing over to see a somewhat annoyed look on the younger monster's face. "...What?"

"So...Aren't you gonna like...Call someone and tell them we found a human?" Kid asked, quirking a brow when Sans shook his head. "Dude why not?"

"You saw how she reacted to us, Kid, she's petrified right now. You think bringing even more monsters to stare at her is the smart thing to do right now?" Sans sighed, glancing down at the furry creature in his lap for a moment. "...So this little runt actually went after the prickly bastard. I'm impressed." He grinned, petting the sleeping pooch and chuckling as she growled in her sleep before rolling onto her back. "You must have one hell of a bite to have scared him off..."

"She...Can be scary when she's upset." The girl yawned, stretching a bit and slowly opening her eyes, jumping a bit as she caught sight of the two monsters sitting on the floor across form her. "o-Oh...s-Sorry..."

"It's fine, this is all new to you." Sans chuckled, Fox yawning and sitting up in his lap as she heard the human's voice. "If I hadn't fallen asleep earlier, I might've been there instead of the flower...But I guess you can blame Toby for that."

"...Toby?"

"His dog, the little guy runs the house when Sans and Pap aren't around." Kid laughed, shaking his head a bit as Sans sighed. "Alright, dude, she's awake now, so can we get some answers?"

"u-Uhm...w-Where is my coat?" The girl chirped, suddenly pulling the blankets tighter around herself. "...a-And where..."

"Ehh...The coat is kind of a lost cause, it's all torn up from that damn flower." Sans explained, scratching the back of his skull for a moment. "That and it was starting to get waterlogged, so uh...Yeah, it's gone."

"o-Oh...Uhm. t-Thank you...Sans, is that what you...Said your name was?" The girl asked, fidgeting a bit in the chair and half hiding her face in the blankets. "...My...My name...Is Mina." She sighed, completely hiding her face now. "I'm sorry, I...I've never been good at talking to...Anyone. Except for Fox..."

"Ehh, don't sweat it. I know a few people who won't even say half as much as you have in one sitting." Sans reassured her, smiling a bit as she peeked out from behind the blankets. "It's true, a friend of mine, Alphys, she gets so nervous that she just completely avoids talking to anyone, even her best friends. Unless they get her started on a rant about her anime, then she'll never stop talking."

"Is...She another monster?" Mina asked, seeming a bit nervous as she asked. Seeing Sans nod, she worked up her courage to ask another question. "Are...Are there any humans at all?"

"There was before, and there will be again soon." Sans nodded, not even bothering to look at Kid as the younger monster's stare bore into his skull. "Like I was trying to say earlier, Frisk, she's a human. She lived here for a while a few years ago, and she's supposed to be back sometime this next week."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS SANS?!" Kid screamed, acting much more like a child than a teenager for a moment, his face turning beet red when he realized Mina was giving him a curious look. "i-I mean, uh...Dude, why wouldn't you tell anyone that?!"

"Well 'dude', I only got the message earlier today, and Frisky wants it to be a surprise." Sans chuckled. "But yeah...I was expecting to find her there, not you. So how'd you end up down here, Mina?"

"...i-I...t-That is..." That one question seemed to shake Mina up quite a bit, her grip on the blankets tightening as she stared down at the floor. She must have spaced out, because the next thing she knew there was a boney hand on her shoulder, Sans giving her an odd look and looking her straight in the eye. "i-I'm sorry...i-It's just been a long day, I..."

"That bad eh? Well.." Sans sighed, Kid grumbling something about food and deciding to hit up the kitchen when the human had spaced out. "Look, you don't have to tell us right away. Hell, you don't have to tell us anything, it's your choice. It hasn't exactly been a great first day in the Underground for you, so...It was probably kind of stupid for me to ask that anyway. So...Don't cry alright? I'm sorry for being a numbskull."

"..a-Am I crying?" Mina asked, blinking and realizing that she was indeed crying. "i-I'm so sorry, I just..." She paused, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "...I'm not used to talking to people, or dealing with...So much stress all at once. Usually, I'd just drown everything out with my...Music..." She frowned, opening her eyes. "...My MP3 player was in my backpack..."

"That backpack?" Sans asked, motioning towards a bag sitting against the wall. "Found that before we found you, actually. It's not as torn up as the coat was, but the one strap is all torn up."

"Oh, it's...It's always been like that, my brother did something stupid...And it broke when he grabbed it." Mina sighed, standing and more or less speaking like a normal person for the first time since she had woken up. While she spoke she folded up the blankets and went to retrieve her backpack. "When we were little, some bullies dared him to climb this one tree that was half fallen over a river...They dared both of us, and my brother went first." She chuckled a little, shaking her head as she moved to sit back down, picking through her backpack and making sure everything was still intact. "Julian, my brother...He's fearless, he'd never back down from any challenge. He held my hand while I followed him...He's fearless, but...He was a bit of a klutz back then."

"Oh yeah?" Sans inquired, crossing his arms and deciding to just listen as Mina nodded.

"Well, we got over the middle of the river, then those kids...Started shaking the tree. The branch was damp where we were, and Julian slipped." Mina closed her eyes for a moment, biting her lip a bit. "When he fell, the others panicked and dragged me back off the tree. I was screaming louder than I ever had, and yelling at them...Crying, too. One of them shoved me and told me to shut up, then the next thing I knew..." She paused again, actually smiling and laughing a bit. "Julian came charging out of the river and just started beating that kid up for touching me. Same for the others when they jumped in to help their friend."

"Heheh...Yeah, that's kind of what older brothers are supposed to do, trust me I know." Sans chuckled, remembering a few times he had gone after some kids who bullied Paps when they were boys. Hearing Mina laugh a bit, he tilted his head and looked over at her. "What's funny now?"

"He's not older than me, we're twins. If he is older, it's only by a few minutes." Mina smiled, seeming to suddenly remember where she was and exactly who she was talking to. "i-I'm...I'm sorry, I'm rambling..."

"Nah, you're fine. It's more fun when people actually talk back." Sans reassured her, closing his eyes for a moment. "Besides, listening gives you a better idea of what kind of person you're dealing with." Before Sans could say another word, Kid walked back into the room, seeming annoyed at the lack of food other than leftover pie dough and baking supplies. "...Is that you growling or that bottemless pit you call a stomach, Kid?"

"...I'm going back to Snowdin. There's nothing edible here." Kid groaned, pausing as he reached the doorway that lead towards the tunnel. "So...Are you gonna leave her here or something? You know Paps is gonna be worried if you're not home soon."

"Well..." Sans sighed, standing and crossing his arms. As he went to speak again, his cellphone rang. "...And there's Paps now." He chuckled, answering the phone and almost immediately regretting it. "Paps, stop shouting, I can't under stand a word."

" **BROTHER! THE DOG HAS DECLARED WAR AGAINST MY ACTION FIGURES AND YOU LEFT ME HERE ALONE TO DEAL WITH IT!** " Papyrus was shouting, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear him, even crying a little bit from what they could tell. " **SAAAAANS HE CHEWED THE ARMS OFF OF CAPTAIN-** "

"Okay, Okay. Papyrus, calm down." Sans sighed, covering his face with his free hand. "I'll be home soon and I'll see if I can't fix Captain whatever...Did you start dinner yet?"

" **I WAS JUST ABOUT TO START, WHY?** "

"Well...I'm probably just gonna grab something at Grillbys on my way home, so..." Sans trailed off, noticing Kid was already leaving. Hearing something break on the other end of the line, he quickly moved the phone away from his skull, already wincing as Paps started to yell even louder.

" **JESUS FUCKING CHRIST SANS THE DOG IS ON THE MOVE ALREADY! HE HAS A LEG AND HE KNOCKED OVER THE LAMP!** " Paps screeched, just now processing what Sans had said before Toby started his counterstrike. " **...SANS WHY ARE YOU EATING AT GRILLBYS AGAIN!? HOW CAN YOU STAND ALL THE GREASE!** "

"Grease doesn't bug me bro, after all..."

" **...SANS I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU EVEN THINK OF SAYING IT I WILL-** "

"What's a bit of grease...To a _**small fry**_ like me?" Sans grinned, laughing as Papyrus began screaming something no one could possibly understand. He had to motion at Mina to keep quiet, the poor girl doing her best not to laugh at the pun and Papyrus's screaming. "Look, I'll stop in at home first and see about fixing your action figure, alright? Just move them out of Toby's reach."

" **I DID THAT ALREADY BUT...OH MY GOD SAAAAANS HE'S ON TOP OF THE REFRIDGERA-** "

"Be home soon, bye Paps." Sans quickly said, hanging up and closing his phone before looking over at a giggling Mina. "Can you just imagine if I told him Frisk was on her way back here? There's already enough chaos in our normal life." Sans chuckled, glancing away and scratching the back of his skull. "Well, as Kid was saying, there's no food here...Besides, I'm pretty sure if I left you alone, you'd be on the watch for that damn flower until you drop."

"I'd almost forgotten about that...Thing..." Mina sighed, smiling a little as she saw Foxy jump into her backpack. "It doesn't...Look like she wants to stay here either." She bit her lip a bit, picking up her backpack and zipping it mostly shut, leaving a hole large enough for Fox to stick her head out of. "s-So...Snowdin, that's where you're going?..Ah...Are there...A lot of other monsters there?"

"It's not too crowded, and if I'm sneaky enough, I can probably drop you off at my house without Paps realizing we have company." Sans thought for a moment, nodding to himself. "Uh...Hope you don't mind walking this time, I've used a bit more magic than usual today. " He chuckled a bit, rolling his neck as he started down the hallway. "It's not hard to use it just...Kinda takes a lot out of you when you don't use it very often."

"Oh, i-I...I'm fine with walking, but uhm...Is it very far?" Mina asked, cautiously following after Sans. She was looking around as she followed, not paying attention for a few moment and suddenly bumping into him. "i-I'm sorry! i-I was-" She was stopped however, something being tossed over her head and covering her face. It took her a moment to realize what it was, raising her hand and blinking at Sans from under the fabric of his hoodie. "..u-Uhm..."

"It's cold out there, and like I said...Doesn't bother me. It'll make it easier to get you through town without a fuss, just keep the hood up." Sans said, already walking on ahead. Honestly the cold really didn't bother him that much anymore, he'd gotten used to it over the years. Besides, it wasn't that long of a walk to Snowdin, he'd be fine in his T-shirt. "I'm actually kinda of shocked, you're barely taller than I am."

"u-Uhm...Part of that might...Be my boots." Mina muttered, sighing a little. "They have an elevated heel so uhm...I may actually be shorter than you." Hearing Sans snicker a bit, she puffed out her cheeks. "Please don't laugh..."

"Well, if you're shorter than me, it should fit pretty well." Sans chuckled anyway, grinning widely as he continued to the end of the tunnel. Once he was a few steps outside he turned to wait for Mina, glancing around for a moment to make sure nothing seemed off. There was still traces of mud in the snow, as well as on the doors to the ruins, but nothing that looked recent. Looking back to the doorway he sighed, knowing it had already started to get dark out. "Come on sweetheart, it's safe out...Here." He trailed off, blinking a few times as Mina timidly walked out into the snow. Her face was just barely visibly through the fluff of his hoodie, Fox's head also sticking out of hoodie. His hoodie was almost as baggy as her coat had been, but somehow, just just seemed to suit her more.

Realizing he was staring at her, Sans blinked and chuckled nervously, turning away and giving her a sideways glance for a moment. "Well, looks like someone doesn't want to turn into a... _ **Chili Dog**_." He grinned, turning away and walking on ahead as Fox growled lightly. Hearing Mina giggle a bit, he grinned with satisfaction. Once he could hear the snow crunching under her feet, he decided to try to get her talking again. "So..You said you're not that great at talking to people before, right? You seemed fine unless Kid was around."

"i-I...Do a bit better when it's only one person." Mina nodded, quickly following behind Sans as the sun started to disappear behind the trees. She was still on high alert, not wanting to take her chances in this strange place if she were to fall behind. "...s-So...i-It's likely obvious, but...I'm more than a little scared..."

"Sweetheart, no one in the Underground, especially anyone in Snowdin, would even think about hurting you. They might have a few years ago, if you were alone, but..." He paused a moment, smirking a bit as they continued on. "I don't think anyone opposing the Queen's policies would even think about trying anything with me here, then or now."

"t-There's...There's a Queen?" Mina blinked in surprise, quickening her steps until she was walking next to Sans. "Uhm...Why wouldn't they try anything?"

"Let's just say I can be _**really scary**_ when I want to be. Speaking of." He paused a moment, glancing over at her a moment. "You're not acting like you're scared of me now...Any reason?"

"w-Well...Fox seems to trust you, and she never takes to anyone that quickly..." Mina trailed off, shifting her gaze elsewhere. "..Besides, you can't be a bad person after helping me so much..."

"Heh...Well let's hope Fox likes Pap at least, he'll probably be yelling for the rest of the night, 'least until he gets his bedtime story and is sure Toby isn't hiding under his bed." Hearing her giggle a bit, he continued. "He's not really scary, he's...Well, he's loud, but he literally couldn't hurt a fly even if he tried. Don't get me wrong, he's strong, but...He can't even think of hurting anyone."

"w-Well...If he's as nice as you, i-I think Fox will like him..." Mina smiled, stopping as she caught sight of the little town ahead of them. It had already gotten quite dark out, so she wasn't surprised to see so few people out and around. Sans must have notice she stopped, since he stopped and turned to look at her. "Uhm..So..."

"There's a key in one of the inner pockets of the hoodie, so here's what you'll have to do." Sans grinned mischeviously, closing his eyes a moment. "The house you're looking for has two mailboxes in front of it, it's at the end of the road. Go in, don't say anything to Paps, run up the stairs and use the key on the far right room at the top of the stairs." Opening an eye, he saw Mina giving him a look of disbelief. "You'll be fine, Paps is probably still cooking, or cleaning up after himself in the kitchen."

"I take it all back, you're a terrible person." Mina whined, watching him wave and start to walk towards a building with a large sign outside. "...Grillbys?"

"I'll be at the house in a few minutes, don't worry. Hell, I'll even bring you a burger and fries, how's that?" His answer came rather quickly, Mina's stomach rumbling loudly and the hood of the hoodie being pulled down over the rest of her face. "Better hurry then, people might suspect something if they see two of me out here."

One quick nod was all Mina gave before slowly starting down the road. She glanced back for a moment to see if Sans was still there, not that she was surprised when he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Although she was trying not to look at anyone, she couldn't help but be curious. To her surprise, most of the people she passed looked like animals. Dogs, Rabbits, Bears, just standing upright and wearing clothes. They didn't look frightening at all, some even waving as they headed to their homes.

Once she got to the end of the road, she stopped to gawk at the mailboxes. One was completely empty, while the one next to it was literally overflowing with letters, even the ground around it was covered with envelopes. "...w-Well...Fox, this is it." She whispered, deciding to peek through a window next to the front door. Just like Sans had predicted, someone was moving around in the kitchen, the sound of running water audible from the window. Taking a deep breath, she carefully grabbed the doorknob, opening it as quietly as she could. Cracking the door and peering inside, she spotted a creature she could only assume was Toby, trapped under a laundry basket with a stack of books on top of it. He seemed to be napping, so she took her chance.

Once she got in the door, she realized she had made one fatal mistake. Fox was peeking out from under the hoodie, and upon seeing Toby, the little brown dog promptly began to growl. This, of course woke Toby up just as she had managed to close the door. As soon as the two dogs saw each other, all hell broke loose. Toby was the first to start barking, this drawing Papyrus's attention away from his dishes. " **DOG I AM IN NO MOOD TO DEAL WIT-...OH SANS! YOU'RE BACK! I WAS BEGINNING TO W-...WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!** "

It was all Mina could do to keep Fox from jumping out of the hoodie, the once again frightened girl making a mad dash up the stairs. She could see the safe room Sans had told her to get to, if she could just get in! When she reached the top of the stairs, she pulled out the key the skeleton had mentioned, the tip just barely sticking out of the jacket sleeves as she moved to bolt for the door. She was almost...

" **SAAAAAAANNNSSSSS YOU CAN'T GO BACK ON YOUR WORD!** " Papyrus roared, easily catching up and throwing his arms around his 'brother' and picking him up. He paused for a moment, noticing something didn't feel right. " **...BROTHER WHY ARE YOU COVERED IN MUD, AND WHY DON'T YOU SMELL LIKE GREASE...OH MY GOD SANS?! DID SOMEONE STEAL YOUR FOOD AND BEAT YOU UP!? SANS WHY ARE YOUR RIBS SMALLER AND OUT OF PLACE OH MY GOD?!** " He paused yet again, blinking and listening to the odd, high pitched squealing sound that was coming from his 'brother' " **..SANS. SANS WHAT'S WRONG PLEASE TELL ME! ARE YOU OKAY?!** "

At this point, Mina was in full frozen panic mode, her delusions of safety shattering before her eyes as Papyrus carried her downstairs and set her on the couch. The best she could do was keep the hood pulled over her face, and over the still growling and whimpering Fox. Her hands were still hidden by the hoodie sleeves, and for the moment the only thing she could think of was to completely hide herself in the oversized hoodie. This meant tucking her legs and feet in as quickly as she could, causing Papyrus to freak out even more.

" **SANS WHERE DID YOUR LEGS GO?! OH MY GOD SHOULD I CALL SOMEONE?! SANS PLEASE SPEAK TO ME!** "

"...Well that didn't go as planned." Sans deadpanned, closing the front door after walking in with a pair of bags from Grillbys. "Pap, please calm down."

" **HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WH-..**." Paps froze, looking from the Sans in the doorway to the Sans on the couch several times. ". **..SANS WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?...AND WHY IS YOUR HOODIE GROWLING AT ME?** "

"Pap, you're scaring our house guest." Sans chuckled, gently shoving Pap put of the way and pulling the hoodie up a bit, just enough to reveal an angry brown dog. "Look what I found, bro. She was lost and all alone at the ruins, so I brought her home."

" **...SANS WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION BEFORE! ONE DOG IS TOO MUCH ALREADY!** " Papyrus started to yell, glaring at Toby as he tried to escape his makeshift prison. " **WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK OF BRINGING ANOTHER ONE HOME, AND LETTING IT WEAR YOUR FAVORITE HOODIE?**!"

"Well, when you put it that way..." Sans trailed off, grinning a bit as he patted the hoodie behind Fox, realizing Mina was holding the dog in front of her face. "I mean, I could throw her back out if you want, Pap."

" **PLEASE DO!** " Papyrus exclaimed, blinking as his brother started unzipping the coat. "... **SANS WHAT ARE YOU DOING**?"

"Just let me get her out of my hoodie, alright? You want me to throw her out, out she goes...Oh by the way, there's a human attached to her so, are you sure you wanna throw her out?" Sans chuckled, hearing an annoyed groan from his brother and simply waiting. As Paps started to speak again, Sans moved and pulled his hoodie away from the couch, revealing poor Mina as she tried to hide behind the little brown dog.

" **SANS IF THIS IS ANOTHER JOKE I...I..**." Papyrus simply froze, tilting his head to one side ever so slowly as he examined the thing that had been hiding in his brother's hoodie. He wasn't sure what he was looking at, until a pair of deep blue eyes peered out from behind the growling little dog. " **.** **..SAAAAAANS OH MY GOD IT'S REALLY A HUMAN?! HOW?! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN?! WHERE?!** "

"Still scaring her, Pap." Sans chuckled once again picking up one of the bags from Grillbys and setting it on the couch next to Mina. "Eat up, it's still pretty hot."

 **"...HOW AM I SCARING...WAIT, HER?"**

"...Pap I swear to god, don't-" Sans protested, but it was already too late Paps had a look on his face that made it seem like he had just seen the most sickeningly sweet, adorable thing in his entire life. "Paps do not-"

 **"OH MY GOOOOOOOD SAAAAAAAANS! YOU BROUGHT A GIRL HOME?!"** Paps shrieked, Mina almost choking on her burger as she took a bite. This caught Papyrus's attention, his gaze quickly shifting from is brother to his new human friend. **"SHE'S SO CUTE SANS HOW DID YOU EVEN...AH WAIT I'M BEING RUDE!"** Paps yelled as he crouched down, the same creepy look on his face as he reached to place his hands on Mina's shoulders. **"HUMAN I AM SO SORRY, I FAILED TO INTRODUCE MYSELF AND MISTOOK YOU FOR MY BROTHER! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"**

"..c-Could...u-Uhm...y-You m-maybe...l-Let go..." Mina stuttered, more than a bit overwhelmed and confused by what the much taller skeleton was ranting about. She was about to say something else, but before she could Papyrus let out a shriek and jumped away from her, Fox dangling from his backside as he screamed.

 **"BROTHER I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN!"** Papyrus wailed, knocking over the basket that had been containing Toby. That was when hell -really- broke loose. Both dogs had now latched on to Pap somehow, and were pawing at each other as best they could.

All Sans could do was place a hand over his face, letting out the most annoyed groan he could muster amidst all the barking and yelling, all while dodging random flying bones and making sure none hit his guest. He could hear Mina whining quietly as she reached out to try to call Fox back, but there was no way anyone else in the room could hear her.

As he went to speak, he was struck in the head by a small flying bone, that causing the rest of his patience to vanish quicker than he could snap. "Would you three..." Of course, they couldn't hear him, bu this only made him chuckle as his left eye lit up with magic. "FUCKING KNOCK IT OFF FOR A MOMENT?!" He shouted, sweeping his left hand towards the three ringed circus that had sprung to life in front of the couch. His magic covered his hand, as well as the three offenders, effectively lifting them into the air and separating them.

Not only that, but Sans' sudden outburst had one more effect. Mina hadn't been expecting the outburst at all, much less the show of magic, the combination of these things and the stress from the previous commotion causing her to jump a bit. She didn't just jump, though, a strangely adorable sound resembling a small child squeaking or a kitten meowing errupting from her not even a second after Sans started shouting. Having placed her burger down earlier, she quickly covered her mouth, slowly looking at the now silent dogs before glancing at both skeletons. Papyrus was covering his own mouth and squealing at the cuteness he had just witnessed, while Sans...

"..w..What...The hell was THAT?" Sans managed to ask, trying his damndest not to laugh as he looked at her. Glancing to Pap, he quickly recognized the look his brother was giving him. "...I can't deal with this right now. I'm going to go upstairs, eat my burger, and frickin' sleep." He dropped his hand, quickly covering his face with his now free hand while grabbing his hoodie and bag of food with the other. Hearing Paps start to speak, he quickly cut him off. "One damn word and I'll kill you."

The next sound was that of Sans's bedroom door slamming shut, Papyrus and both dogs not daring to move after being freed from the angry skeleton's magic. Letting out a sigh, Mina reached up and brushed her hair out of her face. "...u-Uhm...I...Think you might...Have gotten the wrong idea..." She paused, holding up a finger as Papyrus started to speak. "...p-Please let me eat first, then I...I'll explain..." She didn't need to say anything else, Pap just sitting there quietly in between the two small dogs...Who were now more focused on Mina's fries more than anything else.

Up in his room, Sans was slumped against his bed, staring up at the ceiling and hoping to hell Pap had been the only one to notice the look that had been on his face. "...Why the hell..." He started, covering half of his face with one hand, a bit of color still on his cheeks. "...Couldn't today have just been the same old thing." Sighing quietly, he opened the bag and took out his burger, as well as an entire bottle of ketchup. Before he started in on his food, he glanced at the door, a bit amused at the lack of sound coming from downstairs. "..Ehh, she'll be fine. It's just Pap, after all."

Back downstairs, an uneasy peace had settled in. Mina was just finishing the last of her fries, breaking one in half and giving each dog one half. Pap was sitting on the floor still, eagerly awaiting to hear everything the human was going to say to him. A thought occurred to him as Mina was cleaning up, placing all her trash back into the Grillbys bag. " **HUMAN...WAS...WAS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, REALLY SCARING YOU BEFORE?"**

"o-Oh, u-Uhm..." Mina bit her lip a bit, picking up Fox as the little dog started to growl at an approaching Toby. "w-Well, a little...I don't..." She sighed, seeing the hurt, almost shameful look washing over Pap's face. "I mean, you're not scaring me now...I just have...A really hard time dealing with people in general. I get spooked over the smallest things, really...i-I'm sorry, it's not your fault at all."

" **REALLY? YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY SURE I'M NOT SCARING YOU?** " Papyrus asked, smiling cheerfully as the girl nodded. " **WONDERFUL! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD NEVER WANT TO SCARE A POTENTIAL FRIEND! ESPECIALLY A FRIEND OF MY BROTHER! OH, HOW LONG HAVE YOU TWO KNOWN EACHOTHER?!** "

"I..." Mina paused, sighing and givng a nervous smile as she continued. "I'm sorry, I've not been here for very long at all...A few hours, actually. Your brother and...Kid, I think his name was?...They...They found me after I..."

" **FOUND YOU? WERE YOU LOST?...OH WAIT, BROTHER SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THE RUINS, DIDN'T HE?** " Papyrus interrupted, crossing his arms and leaning closer to Mina. He hadn't noticed the scratch on her face until then, a concerned look coming to his face. " **HUMAN HOW DID YOU GET INJURED? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?** "

"i-I...When I woke up, I was surrounded by flowers." Mina started, closing her eyes and trying to remember everything that had happened after she awoke in the ruins. "Fox was licking my face to wake me, like she always does. I sat up and tried to focus, my head hurt so much...I looked around and heard a voice coming from the flowers around me."

 _"Howdy, Human! Boy, you're lucky you landed where you did, if you hadn't landed in the flowers you'd probably be dead." A small voice echoed throughout the room, Fox blinking and starting to growl lowly as something moved through the flowerbed._

 _"Hello?...Is...Is someone there?" Mina asked shyly, wincing and holding her head with one hand. "I...I don't remember how I got here...Did I fall?" She asked, looking up and seeing a few snowflakes falling towards her through a massive hole in the cavernous ceiling. "Why..Why can't I remember how I got here?"_

 _"Gee, you sure do ask a lot of questions...But you know what, I bet I can help you remember." The voice said, a small yellow flower suddenly popping out of the ground a few feet from the now sitting girl. This caused Fox to growl even louder, the flower's eyes darting to the little dog and a nervous look coming to its face. "Aww gee, I don't think your friend likes me very much...I just want to help, maybe you could ask it to stop?"_

 _"A...A talking flower?" Mina blinked as she spotted the flower, holding Fox tightly against her chest and trying to calm the upset little dog. "i-I'm sorry...She's never seen a talking flower, maybe she's...j-Just scared, is all. h-How are you talking, to begin with?"_

 _"Golly, I can talk because I'm a monster of course! You're in the Underground now, so it's not that strange." The flower smiled, something seeming a bit off about him though. "Humans who fall down here...I've seen others, but I never helped any of them. They all died, I was so sad because I couldn't help any of them. I tried, really I did, but they all ran away from me. They ran away and other monsters killed them."_

 _"o-Other monsters?" Mina asked, shaking a bit as the flower nodded. "..i-I...I don't want...m-Maybe you can help me, then?" She asked, blinking as the flower smiled and Fox began snarling. "..f-Fox, please, he's just a little flo-" Before she could continue speaking, something wrapped around her ankles and hoisted her into the air, a pair of thorny vines shooting out of the ground and encircling her wrists as she shrieked and dropped Fox. "w-What's happening!?"_

 _"Heheh...You_ _ **idiot**_ _. I'll help alright...Help myself to your_ _ **SOUL!**_ _" The flower laughed maniacally, more vines shooting out from around him and lashing out at the girl. It didn't matter to him if her body got ripped apart, honestly, her soul was all he was after._

 _"s-Stop, please!" Mina screamed, the sound of the flower's laughter and Fox's frantic barking echoing in her ears. She remembered there being a flash of light, then the sounds all fading as she blacked out. "s-Somone...Please..."_

"...When I woke up, someone was pulling me up off the ground. I was still so scared, but..." Mina sighed, opening her eyes and managing a small smile, seeing the obviously upset and worried look on Papyrus's face. "I opened my eyes, and I met your brother and Kid..."

" **HOW HORRIBLE! HUMAN I AM SO SORRY YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH SOMETHING LIKE THAT!** " Papyrus exclaimed and moved closer, grabbing one of Mina's hands with both of his. " **I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SWEAR TO YOU! IF I EVER HAPPEN TO MEET THIS HORRIBLE LITTLE FLOWER, I SHALL GIVE HIM A STERN TALKING TO!** "

"e-Erm...t-Thank you..." Mina smiled and chuckled nervously, glancing away for a moment. She was about to say something else, but she spotted Toby sitting a few feet away with something odd sticking out of his mouth. "...u-Uhm, is he supposed to have that?"

" **...HAVE WH-...NO! DOG WHY MUST YOU KEEP DOING THIS?!** " Papyrus shouted, quickly springing to his feet and trying to take one of his action figures away from Toby. He succeeded, but not before the dog managed to break off one of the figure's arms. " **NOT ANOTHER ONE! WAIT THAT REMINDS ME...SAAAAANS!** "

"I'm right here, bro." Sans sighed, walking down the stairs and plucking the action figure from Pap's hands. "...Yeah, I can fix that."

"Toby really doesn't like your action figures, does he?" Mina asked, a thought coming to her mind as she watched Sans look over the figure. "Since you mentioned this was a war between you and the dog, maybe he..."

Sans's face lit up as he realized what was about to happen, Papyrus's face going blank as he slowly turned his head to look at Mina. " **...HUMAN PLEASE DO NOT FINISH THAT-** "

"...Decided to 'Disarm' your troops." Mina giggled, Papyrus erupting into a screaming fit as he fell to his knees, tossing his hands into the air dramatically. All Sans could do was chuckle and shake his head, walking across the room and grabbing the other broken figures from a small table. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist it." Mina smiled, looking to Pap as he stood back up.

" **BROTHER YOU ARE A TERRIBLE INFLUENCE! THE HUMAN WAS FINE BEFORE YOU CAME BACK DOWNSTAIRS!** " Papyrus pointed an accusing finger at his brother grinding his teeth as Sans just shrugged at him. " **BY THE WAY, HOW DID YOU RESPOND SO QUICKLY?...** "

"Ehh...I was coming down to check on you two anyway." Sans stated, taking a seat on the floor with his back against the couch. "Besides, I needed to tell you to remind me to do something tomorrow, Pap."

" **...WHAT?** " Pap asked, plopping onto the couch next to Mina and blinking as a little brown dog jumped into his lap and laid down. "... **HUMAN WHAT IS THIS ANIMAL DOING?** " He asked, looking to Mina and seeing her smiling at him.

"She must like you, it's alright." Mina said, shifting her gaze from Papyrus to Sans for a moment. She hadn't heard the door open upstairs, wondering if he had used his magic or something to leave his room. "Uhm...What do you need to be reminded of, Sans?"

"Nothing big, I just need someone to remind me to call Tori and explain what's going on." Sans said, focusing on fixing Pap's action figures as best he could. "I probably should have called her when we found you, but...I figured it'd be better to wait until you had calmed down a bit."

"a-Ah...t-Thank you...I'm sorry..." Mina sighed, smiling sadly and looking at the floor. She reached one of her hands up after a moment, rubbing her eyes a bit. "...i-I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm a bit tired..."

"Paps, think you could camp out on the couch for the night?" Sans asked, glancing over at his brother for a moment. "I'm sure Mina would feel safer there instead of the couch, or my room."

"o-Oh, no I-" Mina started, being interrupted as Pap sprang to his feet and scooped her up like a child. "w-Wait!"

" **NEVER FEAR, HU-...MINA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE NO QUALMS ABOUT SLEEPING ON THE COUCH! BESIDES, MY BROTHER'S ROOM IS FAR TOO DANGEROUS FOR ANY LIVING THING TO SLEEP IN...** " Papyrus muttered, swiftly carrying Mina and her backpack up to his room.

Once he was alone again, save for the company of Fox, Sans sighed and glared at the action figure he was repairing. "...So the prickly little bastard did all that, eh?" He frowned, closing his eyes for a moment. Truthfully, he had head everything Mina had said, having snuck out of his room and taken a seat at the top of the stairs. Opening his eyes after a while, Sans blinked when he felt something on his left shoulder, glancing over to see Fox's head resting on him. "Heh...Hey pup. Mind telling me how you managed to chase him off anyway?" He asked jokingly, blinking as the little dog stared him straight in the eye and growled slightly. "Uhh..Okay then, forget I asked." He said, turning his focus back to repairing the action figures.

It wasn't long before Pap came back downstairs, carrying an extra pillow and blanket under one of his arms, his pjs already on. " **WOWIE, SHE FELL ASLEEP FAST.** " Paps stated, setting his bedding on the couch. " **I ONLY WENT TO THE BATHROOM TO CHANGE AND WHEN I WENT BACK, SHE WAS ALREADY ASLEEP.** "

"Can't blame her, she's had one hell of a day from the sound of it." Sans said, holding up one repaired figure. "Sorry, Pap, I'm gonna need some things to fix this other one...Where's Toby anyway?"

" **OH, RIGHT, HE WAS CURLED UP NEXT TO...MINA IS THE HUMAN'S NAME?** " Pap asked, seeing his brother nod he continued. " **WELL, HE'S ASLEEP NEXT TO HER. I LEFT THE DOOR CRACKED SO HER DOG COUD FIND HER...** "

"Ehh...I'll put him in my room later, I don't think Fox here would be too happy with him snuggling her human." Sans chuckled, the now sleeping brown dog letting out a sigh and nuzzling his shoulder. "...I should have called Tori, shouldn't I?"

" **WELL...YES, BUT YOU'RE STILL DOING WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT, AREN'T YOU?** " Papyrus asked, smiling a bit at his brother. " **I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING. YOU KNOW, SANS, THIS REMINDS ME OF WHEN FRISK FIRST STARTED STAYING WITH US!** "

"Only instead of a kid, we've got ourselves an older houseguest...Huh, I wonder how old she is, actually." Sans thought for a moment, one thought quickly being dismissed. ' _Jeez Sans, get your mind out of there..._ ' He mentally berated himself, shaking his head and trying to figure out why his mind had been drifting to the gutter since he had met Mina.

' _Never had any weird thoughts like that about the kid...Well, maybe it's because Mina...Isn't a kid. Still, you hardly know her, so knock it off.'_ Sighing to himself, Sans opened his eyes and reached a hand up, pulling a sleeping Fox into his arms as he stood. "You alright without a story tonight, Paps?"

" **...I SUPPOSE I CAN DO WITHOUT A STORY FOR ONE NIGHT.** " Papyrus sighed, stretching out on the couch and tossing the blanket over himself. " **GOODNIGHT, BROTHER. I'LL PROBABLY BE UP BEFORE YOU TOMORROW, AS USUAL. I PLAN ON MAKING THE GREATEST SPAGHETTI BREAKFAST IMAGINABLE FOR OUR GUEST, AFTER ALL!** " He exclaimed, causing Sans to chuckle as he headed up the stairs.

As quietly as he could, Sans crept into his brother's room, easily spotting Toby's white fur against the red blanket. Fox stirred a bit in his arms, yawning quietly and glancing around. He could feel her little tail wagging as she caught sight of her human, but this stopped as soon as he set her on the bed. When she began growling at Toby, he sighed and quickly picked the sleeping white dog up. "Shh...Go back to sleep." He whispered to the smaller dog, keeping his voice as low as he could, not wanting to wake Mina.

As he mad his way out of the room, Sans heard movement, glancing over his shoulder at Mina as she turned in the bed. Her head had been covered up before, her face now visible due to the pale light from Pap's nightlight. She looked so peaceful at that moment, a few strands of her long hair laying over her eyes, a slight blush on her cheeks, her lips being slightly parted. ' _...Damn she's beautiful like this...Wait what am I thinking?'_ Snapping back to his senses, Sans quietly exited the room, closing the door behind him so Toby didn't sneak in and cause an uproar with Fox. Setting Toby on the floor, he quickly made his way to his room, closing the door as usual.

"Get it together, Sans." He sighed to himself, slumping down next to his bed and glancing at his hoodie. He hadn't put it back on since taking it back from Mina earlier that evening, remembering the look she had on her face when he'd first seen it on her. "...It's going to be a damn long night." He sighed again, a bit of color in his cheeks as he closed his eyes. It took him a little longer than normal to fall asleep, his mind being far too busy trying to figure out what would happen in the next week. Not only did he need to keep Frisk's return a secret from everyone, but now he had to figure out what to do about a certain impossible to find flower, and keep his usually non-existent dirty thoughts from spiraling out of control...Forget a long night, it was going to be a long week.


	3. Chapter 2 - A New Day, A New Home

****._. Omg I didn't think this would be so popular already! I have no words! *hugs and cookies for all the viewers* A note - Once I get more reviews, I may do a little answer/reply page, so if you have any questions pertaining to the fic, feel free to ask! The only one I can answer at the moment though, pertains to the title. In my head, while I was starting this fic out, I asked myself a question. If Monsters still existed in this world, what about the people who sealed them in the underground, the Magicians? Would they still be around, or their descendants rather. If they were, an if this story didn't take place in a 'game', then would Frisk's RESET ability count as a kind of magic? I believe this would be the case, and if Frisk is a descendant of magicians, it stands to reason there would be others like him/her. You'll just have to wait and see, though~****

***Secondary Notes - MUSIC - Songs are AmaLee's english cover of 'RENEGADE' from Gangsta, and Lizz's english cover of 'Friend' from The Witch's House***

***Again, I do not own Undertale or its characters, but I DO own Mina and Fox***

**' _Italics'_ are thoughts. " _Italics_ " is singing. ***

-Chapter 2-

Morning came all too early for Sans, his bones creaking a little as he yawned and stretched. He could tell Paps wasn't awake yet, he could hear the telltale snoring even with his bedroom door still closed. Why was he awake so early again? Oh right, because Toby was whining and pawing at the door. "Yeah, yeah, I'll let you outside in a sec, pup." Sans said as he slowly rose to his feet, rubbing his eye sockets as he walked over to the door. As soon as it was open, Toby made a mad dash for the stairs, skidding across the floor and running down as quick as his little legs could carry him. "Shh...Don't wake anyone else up." Sans chuckled quietly, seeing that the door to Pap's room was still closed.

Once Sans was downstairs, he quickly let Toby outside, closing the door and then turning off the tv since Pap had left it on. He tilted his head a bit, the sound from the tv continuing...Or was it? He noticed something after a moment, a smell coming from the kitchen, as well as the sound he thought was from the tv. Curious about both, he calmly walked over and peeked into the kitchen, blinking a few times at the sight before him.

Sans wasn't sure what to make of it, the sight of Mina standing over the stove with her hair pulled back and held in a long ponytail, dressed in a baggy t-shirt and shorts, with a pair of headphones covering her ears and blasting a cheery tune at what he assumed was full volume. That explained the sound, the smell also being explained as he walked closer and looked over her shoulder. A small pan with eggs was on one burner, a metal baking tray over another with what he could only assume was pancake batter being poured onto it. He was close enough to hear the song change through her headphones, blinking slowly as Mina quietly started to sing along about halfway through the song.

" _Take away, and live for me, and when the world pays you no mind~_

 _Carry on, and burn it down~ Get away from it all~_

 _Take away, and live for me, and when you hear this voice of mine~_

 _Carry on, and burn it down,you've gotta be the only one~_

 _Breathe in, breathe out, submerge your voice~_

 _Calling, calling, call out your name~_

 _This is, your life, so never lose yourself~"_

The entire time she was singing, Mina was focused on fixing the pancakes and eggs. She hadn't noticed Sans was right behind her, simply continuing her task and humming along as the next song started. Once the current pancakes were done, she stacked them on a plate next to the stove, pouring out more batter and brushing a few stray strands of hair out of her face. When something moved to her left, she jumped slightly and turned to look. "o-Oh! u-Uhm, I..Hope you don't mind, I was uhm..." She trailed off, tugging her headphones down around her neck.

"Heheh, Don't worry, no one is gonna complain if you're making breakfast." Sans chuckled, having moved away to grab a bottle of ketchup from the fridge. "Didn't mean to interrupt...I am kinda curious though, aren't you cold in those?" He asked, not missing the slight hint of red that came to Mina's face. "Where'd you get them, anyway?"

"m-My backpack...I...Have a few shirts and my shorts, and the jeans I had on before..." Mina smiled nervously, almost forgetting about her pancakes and the eggs. Shifting her attention back to them after turning down the volume of her headphones, she continued speaking. "I uh...I figured this was the least I could do to thank you two...There wasn't much else other than some leftover pasta in the fridge, and dried pasta in the cupboards..."

"Yeah, Paps really only knows how to make spaghetti, and I usually just get something at Grillby's." Sans chuckled, taking a sip of his ketchup and hearing Paps yawn from the other room. "Still, surprised you were up before us."

"Afraid I'm a bit of a morning person." Mina giggled, seeming to be a lot calmer than she had last night. She had noticed what Sans was drinking, but after all she had seen so far in the Underground, she didn't bother questioning it. Hearing Papyrus clear his throat, she looked over her shoulder to see him lazily walking into the kitchen. "Good morning, I hope I didn't wake you..."

" **...BROTHER WHY ARE YOU TWO IN THE KITCHEN, I HAVEN'T STARTED MAKING THE SPAGHETTI BREAKFA-...** " Papyrus stopped mid-sentence, rubbing his eyes a moment. " **WHY DO I SMELL PANCAKES?** " He blinked, realization hitting him like one of Undyne's punches. " **SANS WHY ARE YOU MAKING OUR GUEST FIX BREAKFAST?!** "

"Oh, he's not...Uhm..." Mina chuckled, shaking her head and sighing. "I was already fixing it before Sans came in...I wanted to thank you two for being so kind and helping me."

" **...SAAAAANS SHE'S SO NICE, CAN WE KEEP HER?** " Papyrus asked, sounding like a child who had just found a puppy.

By now, the kitchen was feeling a bit crowded, Sans taking the opportunity to head out into the living room and dragging his still groggy brother with him. "C'mon Paps, let's let her finish cooking in peace."

" **SAAAANS CAN WE KEEP HER THOUGH? PLEASE?** "

Once breakfast was ready, Mina carried all three plates into the living room, where both Sans and a now dressed Papyrus were sitting on the couch. "Sorry for the wait!" She smiled, leaning down a bit while balancing one of the plates on her head. "Ah...Papyrus? Here, this one is yours." She said, watching as Pap eagerly took his plate and moved over to make room for her on the couch. Carefully taking a seat between the brothers, she handed Sans his plate, setting her own in her lap. "Oh, I forgot...Uhm, Sans, can I have that bottle for a moment?"

Sans blinked, tilting his head a bit and quickly realizing she meant the ketchup bottle. "Uh, sure..." He nodded, holding his plate with one hand and passing her the bottle. It dawned on him why she wanted it, and he found himself chuckling a bit as Paps started protesting.

" **WHY WOULD YOU RUIN YOUR BREAKFAST WITH KETCHUP!?** "

"Eheh...I used to always have ketchup on my eggs, they just taste plain without it." Mina smiled, handing the bottle back to Sans after swirling a bit on her eggs. Hearing Sans chuckle again, she glanced over at him and caught sight of his grin. "...What?"

"Nothing, but I have to agree." Sans said calmly, drizzling some ketchup on his eggs as well before setting the bottle on the floor by his feet. "This would taste plain without ketchup, but even without it...This breakfast..."

" **BROTHER NO. IT'S TOO EARLY FOR-** "

"...Is still pretty _**eggcellent**_!"

" **SANS FOR FUCK'S SAKE IT'S TOO EARLY!** " Papyrus roared, grinding his teeth as Sans laughed and Mina giggled. To vent his frustration, he took a large bite of his pancakes, freezing mid-bite as little hearts formed in his eyes. " **...OH MY GOD THESE ARE AMAZING.** "

"t-They're not that good, I've made better before.." Mina blushed a bit, starting in on her breakfast. While she was eating, she heard Sans mutter something to himself, turning her head to look over at him. "Hmm?"

"Oh uh..." Sans blinked, realizing she had heard him and quickly trying to think of something to say. "So...That a regular thing for you? Singing while you cook?" The look on her face told him she hadn't realized he had heard her yet. "Eheh..I thought it was the tv, Paps left it on. But when I turned it off..."

Mina didn't even try to speak, stuffing another bite of breakfast into her mouth as her cheeks turned a pale pink. She started to wonder just how long Sans had been in the kitchen, being snapped out of her thoughts by Papyrus as he jumped off the couch and pointed his fork at her and his brother.

" **SANS I DON'T SEE HOW THAT'S FAIR! NOT ONLY DID I NOT HEAR OUR GUEST SING, BUT I ALSO DID NOT HEAR A BEDTIME STORY LASTNIGHT!** " Papyrus half yelled, though it sounded more like he was whining to those on the couch.

"Bro, you said you'd be fine without one lastnight." Sans commented, shrugging a bit and deciding to look at a corner of the room. "Besides, it's not like I meant to hear anything, just kinda happened."

Glancing up at Papyrus, Mina sighed and shook her head a bit. He had a look of absolute disappointment on his face, reminding her of when her brother found out there was no Easter Bunny. Back then, she had made little paw prints for him to find to cheer him up, but in this case pawprints wouldn't be enough. ' _Well, Sans already heard something, so...It's not a big deal, I guess...'_ Biting her lip a bit, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her MP3 player, pressing a few buttons and turning the volume up a bit. It was just loud enough for the brothers to hear, both of them looking at her as she closed her eyes. Her cheeks were still burning with embarrassment, but she pushed that feeling aside the moment she began to sing.

" _All by myself, waiting for a friend to show. My magic won't help me now._

 _Not until you, walk through the door~_

 _Please set me free~ Don't be afraid~ I am always, by your side~_

 _Come now, my friend~"_

Both Sans and Papyrus were speechless, the two of them exchanging a look before simply watching Mina as she sang. Sans, being the one closer to her, noticed there were no words coming from the headphones, wondering if she simply knew them by heart. The next verse sent a chill down his spine, the entire melody having a sad, yet thankful tune to it.

" _Death's sweet embrace, was once a gift I yearned for. But now that I have found you, I don't need death. Not anymore~_

 _Come set me free~ You'll be okay~ I'll keep you safe, so I beg~_

 _Don't go away~"_

Mina sighed, the song fading out through her headphones as she turned the volume back down, turning her MP3 player off a moment later. "..j-Just..d-Don't go around telling people I like to s-Eeee!" She gasped, almost dropping her plate as Papyrus suddenly hugged her.

" **HUMAN DON'T BE SAD OR AFRAID! THE GREAT PAPYRUS PROMISES YOU, I WON'T LEAVE!** " Papyrus wailed, almost sounding as if he were crying. When he heard Sans start to laugh, he shot him a glare. " **BROTHER DO NOT LAUGH, I AM BEING SERIOUS!** "

"Pap, keep hugging her and she won't ever sing again." Sans laughed, not missing the shade of bright red that had almost covered Mina's entire face. "Wasn't expecting the free song, sweetheart. Kinda sad, but it was pretty good." Sans stated matter of factly, taking one last bite of his pancakes and eggs while mentally correcting himself. ' _Pretty good? No. No it was not just pretty good, it was amazing. She cooks, she sings, she looks good in anythi-Whoa this again. Shoo bad thoughts.'_

"u-Uhm, i-I'm glad y-you liked the song b-...But could you m-maybe..." Mina whined, finding it a bit hard to breathe with Papyrus nearly crushing her against his armor. Was this even armor? "..Please let go, I need air." She blurted out, taking a deep breath as Pap released her and gave her a startled look. "t-Thanks..."

" **I AM SO SORRY! I PROMISE I WASN'T TRYING TO KILL YOU!** " Papyrus screeched apologetically, blinking as he looked through the window behind the couch. " **...THE LITTLE DOG THAT WAS HERE LASTNIGHT IS YOURS, CORRECT?** " He asked, looking to a slightly confused Mina as she nodded slowly. " **WELL...YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK OUTSIDE.** "

The moment Paps said to look outside, Sans realized something. He'd left Toby outside, and if Fox was also outside... "Oh shit." Was all Sans could say, jumping off the couch almost as fast as Mina and running to the front door. When he opened it his face went blank, he simply couldn't process what he was seeing. A few of the monster dogs, namely the lesser and greater dogs, were laying in the snow and wagging their tails at Fox, who was sitting on a very defeated looking Toby. "...What the actual f-"

"Fox what did you do?!" Mina laughed, staying out of sight behind Sans and calling her little friend into the house. When the others tried to follow her in, the little dog turned around and gave a quick growl, the much larger dogs freezing in place before backing away. "Fox, play nice, they're bigger than you." Mina smiled, crossing her arms and backing away from the door once Fox was inside, Toby slinking in right before the door closed. "Okay no, bad idea, it's too cold for this." She shuddered, rubbing her arms to try to warm up as she headed for the stairs.

"Yeah, I figured you'd only be able to wear those..." Sans paused, grinning a bit and already feeling Paps glaring at him. "...For a _**short**_ time!" He laughed, Mina nearly tripping before she reached the first step, while Papyrus yelled and threw his pillow at his brother's face. Mina apparently wasn't amused by the pun, slamming the door to Papyrus's room once she got upstairs. "Ahh...That was a good one."

" **SHOULDN'T YOU BE CALLING TORIEL, BROTHER?** " Papyrus grumbled, shaking his head a bit as he also headed upstairs. " **SINCE YOU'RE NOT WEARING YOUR HOODIE, IT'S GOING IN THE WASH WITH THE REST OF THE DIRTY CLOTHES.** "

"Yeah, thanks Pap." Sans sighed, looking around a moment for his phone. "Pap, you seen my phone?"

" **IT'S ON THAT PILE OF FILTH YOU CALL YOUR SOCK COLLECTION, NEXT TO YOUR BED.** " Paps called as he came back out of the disaster zone known as his brother's room. " **I HONESTLY CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU MANAGE TO SLEEP IN THERE, SANS. OR WHY YOU COLLECT SOCKS, OF ALL THINGS!** " As he passed his own room, Papyrus paused and leaned against the door, listening to something. " **ARE YOU ALRIGHT IN THERE? DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH SOMETHING?** "

"n-No, I'm f-fine! Please leave!" Mina shouted from behind the door, sounding a bit flustered. Truthfully, she was panicking a little bit. They had been right there when she left, she knew they had. Hearing a knock on the door, and hearing the handle turn slightly, she made a mad leap over the end of Pap's bed and threw herself against the door. "i-I said I'm fine, Papyrus! Don't come in!"

"Paps is already downstairs, sweetheart." Sans chuckled, letting go of the doorknob and tilting his head a bit. "So, what's wrong? You sound a bit off..."

"i-It's nothing, I just...Misplaced something, that's all! Go, shoo, I'm fine." Mina tried to sound reassuring, but given how cold she was becoming, she wasn't sounding very convincing. It occured to her then, Papyrus had mentioned dirty clothes before. "..s-Sans, uhm...c-Could you ask your brother if he...w-Well...w-What all is he washing?"

"Well, I know he's got my hoodie, but-"

" **SAAAAAANS TELL THE HUMAN I NEED INFORMATION! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WASH THESE THINGS? ARE THESE EVEN CLOTHING?** " Papyrus yelled from a small room under the stairs, trying to figure out what do to with all of the muddy clothes he'd found sitting on his bed. " **THE PANTS I KNOW HOW TO WASH, BUT THESE FRILLY THINGS...WHY DOES A HUMAN HAVE SO MANY SWIMSUITS AND SHORT SHIRTS IN A PLACE LIKE SNOWDIN?!** "

"...I'm going to go die now." Mina whined from behind the door, her head hitting the door as she slid to the floor in a defeated manner.

Sans just stayed quiet for a moment, walking to his room and retrieving his phone. Flipping it open, he pressed one of the numbers he had on speeddial, waiting until he heard the telltale click and the groggy voice on the other end. "Sans...You're awake at this hour?"

"Some else needs to talk to you. Just please bring whatever they ask for and don't ask questions." Sans said as quickly as he could, kneeling down and sliding the phone underneath Pap's door. "Just. Leave this outside my door when you're done." He stated, swiftly walking to his room and closing the door before Papyrus could yell for him again.

Hearing a stranger's voice grumbling a bit on the other end, Mina picked up the phone and worked up the courage to speak. "u-Uhm...h-Hello?" She spoke, blinking as the person on the other end went silent upon hearing her. "..s-Sorry, uhm...a-Are you there?"

"Haa...Holy shit, I was expecting Paps, not this." The voice half laughed, regaining composure a moment later. "Alright, what the hell is going on in that crazy little house? Why'd Sans call me out of the blue? Or better yet, just who am I talking to?"

u-Uhm...A...A friend, I...w-Well, to make a long story short, miss.." Mina started, blinking as the person on the other end yelled."o-Oh!"

"Oh my GOD, Alphys come here! I think we finally found someone more terrible at talking on the phone than you!" Another voice, a much more timid one, could be heard in the background. The voice wasn't loud enough for Mina to make out any words, but she did remember Sans mentioning that name before. Speaking of Sans, she heard Papyrus calling for him, but he still hadn't answered. "Hey, why is Paps yelling?"

"w-Well, he...May or may not have grabbed my clothes...i-I left them out on the bed and I guess they were a bit muddy.." Mina chuckled halfheartedly.

"...Wait, you left them WHERE?"

"No! Nonono, i-I mean. i-I stayed here lastnight and p-Papyrus was on the couch!" Mina frantically explained, hearing a burst of laughter on the other end. While whoever it was laughed, someone else grabbed the phone and began talking.

"s...Sorry about that, Undyne is just finding all this to be very amusing. Uh...w-Well, uhm...Oh gosh I'm still so bad at this..."

"Is..Is this Alphys?" Mina inquired, smiling as she heard a timid 'Mhm' on the other end. "Ah, sorry...I'm Mina, I...w-Well, I could use a bit of help, if you heard any of that..."

"Uhm...Oh! Yeah, hang on. What all do you need, I'm sure Undyne has some stuff that doesn't fit...s-She's so tall, so.."

"Well...i-If it's not too much trouble, some warm pants would be perfect..a-And well, uhm..." Before Mina could continue, she heard Papyrus stomp up the stairs, thankfully walking past the door and knocking on Sans' door instead.

" **BROTHER WOULD YOU STOP IGNORING ME?! THE LITTLE BATHING SUIT TOPS ARE PROVING TO BE A CHALLENGE! THEY SAY DELICATE CYCLE ONLY, THAT ISN'T ON OUR WASHER!** "

"..o-Oh dear." Alphys sighed, Undyne erupting into another fit of laughter behind her. "d-Don't worry, Mina, just-" Just as Mina had been interrupted, Alphys was also interrupted. Papyrus had still been yelling, but even he went dead quiet as a muffled scream came from Sans's room. "...I'll send Undyne over with whatever I've got...Just...Uhm...Make sure Sans is still alive alright?"

"..s-s-Sure...y-Yeah.." Mina stuttered, her right eye twitching a little as a few frustrated, embarrassed tears trickled down her cheeks. "...t-Thanks, a-Alphys..." Mina sighed, hearing the click on the other end of the line and hanging up in turn. "...p-Papyrus...j-Just...Leave them. i-I'll wash them later." She whined, deciding she should probably ask about Sans. "..c-Check on your brother yet?"

" **...I...I'LL...LET YOU CHECK ON HIM. I HAVE LAUNDRY TO DO!** " Papyrus nodded to himself, quickly dropping a few things outside his room and bolting downstairs.

"...God, why me." Mina whined, slipping her shorts and t-shirt back on and wrapping a blanket around herself for good measure. While she wasn't running around naked, the rest of what few clothes she had were practically falling apart. The shirt and her jeans had holes in them from the flower's attack the day before, which had been why she changed in the first place. When she had nearly tripped going up the stairs, she had twisted in just the right way to fully tear the band of her bra, which had only been held together by a few threads after the attack. The others were muddy, thanks to Fox being placed in her backpack with them. She had planned to wash them, but hadn't had the time to do so just yet.

Working up her courage once again, she slowly opened the door to Papyrus's room, creeping out and shuffling down the hall to Sans' door. She knocked first, waiting to see if there would be a reply. When there wasn't, she took a deep breath and slowly opened the door, blinking as she spotted Sans with a pillow over his face, laying on his bed. She was actually surprised at the way his room looked, and more than a little concerned about the little tornado that was spinning at the end of his bed.

Keeping the blanket tight around her, Mina shuffled over next to him and peered down at him, blinking as his muffled voice spoke from under the pillow. "Pap I swear to God. If you're going to ask me how to wash those, you're gonna have a bad time." He growled, getting ready to yell as the pillow was pulled away from his face. "What did I JUST S-..." He stopped, face going blank as he spotted Mina, not his brother, looking down at him. "...p-Please tell me you're wearing more than a blanket."

"i-I STILL HAVE CLOTHES ON!" Mina shouted at him, her cheeks burning a brighter red than before as she turned away from him. "a-Alphys asked me to check on you, s-so did your brother!"

"Ahh...I understand." Sans groaned, blinking as something was thrown on his chest. lifting his head up he spotted his phone, placing a hand against one side of his face as he sat up. "Erm...I...Jeez...s-Sorry about that. I kinda didn't expect...Well, any of that to happen."

"i-It's fine. It's not your fault." Mina sighed as she headed towards the door, pausing for a moment and pulling the blanket tighter around herself. "...I...I guess this is what it's like...Living with people who actually care." She smiled, having a hint of sadness to her voice as she walked out. "...I guess I forgot what it was like...It's...Kinda nice."

' _...What did she mean by that?'_ Sans asked himself, sighing and scratching the side of his skull for a moment. Glancing down to his phone, he sighed once more and flipped it open, once again using one of his speed dial buttons and waiting as the phone rang. It took a little while, but eventually someone picked up. "Good morning, Tori. You there?"

"Good morning, Sans. How are you today?" Toriel inquired, having the same motherly tone to her voice that she always had. "You're up early, are you feeling alright?"

"Ehh...Peachy, Tori. I'm just peachy." He chuckled, reclining back onto the mess that was his bed. "How about you? Any pressing engagements to attend to, highness?"

"A few meetings later..Seems a bit of a fight broke out lastnight between my supporters, and well...You know the ones." Tori sighed, Sans easily noticing the stress in her voice. "You would think after four years, they would have calmed down. I had to call in Undyne to settle the matter again."

"Ahh...That's why she sounded half asleep." Sans chuckled, tapping his chin with his free hand. "So uh, listen...About the ruins."

"You're still going there every day, I've heard as much from Undyne." Toriel sighed once more, whispering something to herself before speaking to him again. "What about them?"

"Well, here's the thing...Kid, the one Undyne has been training? He and I went out there yesterday, early afternoon. Got to the door leading to the ruins, and it was a bit of a mess."

"...Not just the capital, now they're lashing out by attacking my home?" Toriel asked, sounding a bit upset.

"Nah, nothing like that, Tori. Just a bunch of mud by the doorway, all up and down the halls..All the way to the last room, you know the one." Sans explained, trying to decide if he should mention the sight of the flowers. "Anyway...We found something in that room, Tori. And before you freak out, it wasn't Frisk."

"Oh...Well then..." Toriel paused, sounding concerned once more. "..What was it you found?"

"It might not be Frisk, but...We found a human. Beaten up, terrified...Hell, I'd have called you lastnight, but it took us a while just to get her calmed down and moved somewhere safer."

"You...You found another child?" Toriel asked, sounding hopeful for a moment, her concern quickly returning as she continued. "Sans, what do you mean, 'beaten up'? Someone was there, and hurt a poor, frightened child?"

"Ehh...I wouldn't call her a child, Tori." Sans paused, shaking his head a moment as his mind wandered to what Paps had been yelling about. "I mean, she's short, yeah, but she's definitely an adult."

"That doesn't make it any better, Sans." Toriel growled slightly, taking a moment to calm herself. "...Is she safe? How badly was she hurt?"

"Not very badly, she wasn't really alone either. There's this little furball that sticks to her like glue, s'kinda cute." Sans chuckled, trying to help Tori calm down as best he could. "I got her to the safest place in Snowdin, she's fine now...Only ones that know she's human are Kid, Pap...Undyne and Alphys."

"You called Undyne, about the human?" Toriel asked, sounding curious now.

"Uhh..Yeah, Mina...Er, that's her name...She kinda needed some clean clothes. Figured I can't bring her to meet you in rags, now can I?" Sans chuckled, being thankful that no one could see his face at the moment. When Toriel didn't reply, he looked at his phone. "..Tori, you still there?"

"...Please don't bring her here, Sans. It's too dangerous right now. The way things have been in the capital...She might need to be kept hidden for a while." Toriel paused, Sans hearing a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "...If they were to find out a human was here, I don't think even Undyne could stop all of them."

"Err...When do you think you'd be able to meet her, Tori?"

"I wish I knew...I have so much to see to this week, and there has been talk of them planning an attack on the palace, maybe even the barrier..."

"...Are they really that stupid?" Sans growled a little, sitting back up and placing his free hand over his face. "..They planning this attack within the week, Tori?" Sans hoped they weren't. He didn't know when Frisk would arrive, more than that though, he didn't know if Frisk planned on walking through the barrier at the palace or taking the drop into the ruins, "I kinda need to know, it's important."

"That is what I hope to find out later today..." Toriel trailed off, staying quiet for a moment and gathering her thoughts. "...I haven't heard you use that tone in a long time, Sans. Why is it so important for you to know?"

"Well...I kinda have something planned myself." He chuckled, trying to calm himself down and hoping she didn't call his bluff. Nodding to himself, he decided he would try calling Frisk after he was done speaking to Toriel. "Ehh...I guess it's nothing too important. Just let me know if you find out, alright?...I would offer for me and Pap to come out and help, but I'm guessing you'd rather we stay on guard duty, right your highness?"

"...Please keep her safe, Sans." Toriel finally replied, even chuckling quietly. "I cannot help but wonder, which side would he have taken, after meeting Frisk? He willingly gave up his soul so that she could leave, but I still..."

"Well, that's something we're not meant to know, Tori." Sans thought for a moment, knowing how sore a subject this was for his friend. "You're just as strong and kindhearted as the king was,Tori...Maybe even more than he was. I'm sure you're already doing the right thing. Hey, I'll talk to you later, alright? I'd kinda like to stay informed."

"Yes...I'll try to find out, Sans...Sans, thank you." Toriel said, Sans almost able to hear her smile as she spoke. "And tell your guest, I'll gladly sit down and chat with her once I am able to. I may even bake her a pie, if I find the time."

"Alright, I'll tell her, Tori." Sans closed his eyes a moment, hearing a soft 'Goodbye' from Toriel before she hung up. Clicking his phone off, he got up from his bed and went to rummage around in his dresser, pulling out a old white turtleneck sweater and changing into it. He didn't wear it often, usually just when Paps demanded to do the laundry. Since Paps was already in laundry mode, and since his shirt had traces of mud on it, he figured he might as well change now.

Heading downstairs, Sans noticed how quiet it had gotten. Aside from Paps humming as he did the laundry, which didn't sound the same as usual. Walking over to the little door under the stairs, Sans knocked and opened it, blinking as his brother glanced back at him " **DO YOU NEED SOMETHING, BROTHER?** " He asked, scrubbing Sans' hoodie by hand. He hadn't started the washing machine yet, that must have been why it was so quiet.

"Uhh..Here." Sans said, handing his usual shirt to his brother. "Figured you'd be asking for it anyway, so...Weren't you washing everything?"

" **OH, THE HUMAN ASKED ME TO WAIT A LITTLE BIT, SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO WASH UP BEFORE UNDYNE GETS HERE, SO I TOLD HER SHE COULD TAKE A SHOWER IF SHE NEEDED TO.** " Papyrus replied, hearing the water turn on upstairs. " **SINCE YOUR HOODIE DOESN'T GO IN THE MACHINE ANYWAY, I DECIDED TO WASH IT FIRST.** "

"Ahh...Well, I'm going to Grillby's then." Sans chuckled, turning and heading for the door before his brother could protest. "Call me when Undyne gets here."

It didn't take Sans very long at all to reach Grillby's, oh no, not since he had reasons to go there this early. He was determined to get in when no one else was around, walking faster than he usually did until he reached the door. Stepping inside, he spotted Grillby setting out supplies behind the counter, knowing no one else would be showing up here for at least a few hours still. "Hey, Grillby."

"...You're here earlier than usual, Sans." Grillby glanced over his shoulder at the skeleton as he took his usual seat, arching a brow as Sans sat and rested his head flat against the counter. "I take it something is bothering you? This is twice in as many days I've seen you without your jacket, as well."

"Ehh...Paps is washing it, got a bit dirty." Sans sighed, turning his head and looking around the room. "Nothing is bothering me, either, it's just...Been a very hectic morning."

"How so?" The fire elemental inquired, walking around the bar and taking a seat next to his friend. He waited for a moment, finding it curious that Sans would only want to sit and not ordered anything. "The last time I remember seeing you like this, Sans, was when Toriel told you she missed the king."

"Ehh...Am I really moping that much?" Sans chuckled, pushing himself up a bit and resting his elbows on the bar, setting his chin against his palms. "Didn't realize it. It's not a huge deal, Grillz, really." Sans grinned, closing his eyes as he heard Grillby sigh. "Had a new friend stay the night, Paps...Well, Paps being Paps, decided to do something without realizing he should ask permission of the guest first, then yelling at me for help over it."

"Would this new friend be the one you bought the food for lastnight?" Grillby inquired, humming a bit to himself as Sans nodded. "Why would that drive you to come here this early?"

"Grillby, please don't ask me to explain every little detail." Sans groaned, opening one eye and giving the bartender a sideways glance. "Paps isn't used to us having guests like this one."

"Ahh, I see...So your brother embarrassed you in front of your friend, somehow." Grillby chuckled, not missing the slight hint of color that lit up Sans's cheeks. "You're not so easily embarrassed, though...It's a woman then, I assume?"

"Someone give the man a prize." Sans grumbled, shifting one of his hands and reaching to scratch the back of his skull. "First he makes a big deal about me letting her stay over lastnight, then this morning he starts yelling about not knowing how to wash her...Clothes." He mumbled the last word, hearing Grillby chuckle quietly. "He did this while I was right outside the door talking to her."

"Something like that was enough to embarrass you, Sans?" Grillby grinned for a moment, sliding out of his seat and going back behind the bar. "It sounds to me as if you've taken a liking to this woman. I am curious though, why didn't you bring her here when you got her food? She was the one walking in your jacket lastnight, correct?"

"..Ahh...Saw that, did you?" Sans opened an eye, ignoring Grillby's previous statement. "Can't be too careful, even here in Snowdin."

"Am I right to assume she...Isn't from around here, then?" Grillby asked, though at the same time Sans knew it wasn't a question about what town she was from. He knew the bartender was smart enough to figure that out, giving a simple nod to him and causing Grillby to hum for a moment. "...Well then. Did you want anything for yourself, or your guest?"

"Nah, I actually ate earlier." Sans chuckled, grinning a little bit. "She woke up before Paps did, and decided to fix us breakfast. Heh...Paps wants to keep her, and uh...Since I can't take her to see Tori right now, she'll probably be hanging out at our place for a while."

"I see..." Grillby chuckled, crossing his arms as he looked over the skeleton. "You'll have to bring her by some time."

"Yeah, well...She's not too great around people, so that might be a ways off."

While Sans sat and talked to Grillby, back at the house Papyrus continued with his daily routine. At the moment, that meant he was cleaning up the living room, the mess he and the dogs had made lastnight finally being cleaned up. Mina was still in the shower, singing yet another song that he had never heard. Not that he minded in the least, he quite liked listening to her sing. What he didn't like, was the way the two dogs were staring at each other. Fox had taken the high ground, being firmly perched on the back of the couch. every time Toby tried to jump up, the smaller brown dog would let loose a low growl, until they eventually became locked in a standoff. Neither one of them were moving, just silently staring with their ears pinned back against their heads. "... **WELL...AT LEAST YOU'RE BOTH BEING QUIET.** "

That quiet quickly shattered as someone knocked loudly on the door, both dogs barking as loudly as they could and leaping to the window to look out at the intruder. Fox was even more agitated than before, shaking a little as she growled and gave Toby a sideways glance. She did stop after a moment, having been picked up by Papyrus as he went to open the door. " **UNDYNE, YOU'RE HERE ALREADY?** " He shouted, opening the door and blinking at the sight before him. Not only was Undyne there, but so was Mettaton, and a third figure he didn't quite recognize. " **WOWIE! SO MANY VISITORS!** "

"Sorry Pap, this idiot heard I was coming here and decided t-" Undyne was cut off, Mettaton shoving his way into the house and throwing himself at Papyrus. "HEY!"

"Papyrus, Darling~! How have you been?" The flamboyant robot inquired, stopping just short of hugging the tall skeleton as he noticed the angry growling ball of fur he was holding. "Wherever did you find that? Did your brother bring home another mutt?"

"o-Ooohh...I'm sorry, am I upsetting your new dog?" The unfamiliar face asked, walking through the door behind Undyne and closing it quietly. "Sorry...My cousin said I should come along, so I can get used to this body..."

" **METTATON, SANS DID BRING THIS DOG HOME, BUT SHE BELONGS TO OUR NEW FRIEND!** " Papyrus explained, sighing a little as the other dog ran in circles around his guests. He then turned his attention to the silver and blue robot, tilting his head a little. " **SPEAKING OF FRIENDS, WHO IS YOUR SHINY NEW FRIEND? I DON'T THINK I'VE MET THEM**."

"It's his cousin, Paps. Uhh..."Undyne paused a moment, looking at the other robot while she set a large box down by the couch. "Sorry, what's your name again?"

"Ooohh...Napstablook...I'm sorry." Napsta frowned, looking down and stepping back a little as Toby barked at him.

"Blooky darling, that mutt won't hurt you." Mettaton cooed, pausing for a moment as a sound caught his attention. Not just his, all the monsters in the room heard it, all looking at the top of the stairs and seeing a pair of deep blue eyes peering down at them from behind the wall. "My my, your guest is awfully rude. Staring at us like that..."

"...Pap, is she what I think she is?" Undyne asked, keeping her eye locked on the figure trying to hide upstairs. "...She's a human?"

"u-Uhm..i-I'm s-sorry, I..i-I didn't know a-anyone else w-was...c-Coming here..." Mina whimpered, still mostly blocked by the wall. She looked to Papyrus, more so looking at the oddly quiet little dog in his arms. To her surprise, Fox seemed completely at ease with these three strangers blinking slowly as the little dog stared up at her. It was then she heard Undyne growling slightly, blinking as she stepped out from behind the corner. "i-I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"How damn long are you gonna stand up there? Get down here and explain what you're doing here!" Undyne barked, her eye twitching as the human disappeared back behind the corner for a moment. When the girl finally came back out, she had a pair of headphones resting around her neck, having a small blanket drapped over her shoulders and hiding the front of her shirt.

"i-I'm really sorry..." Mina apologized, hesitantly walking up to Papyrus and taking Fox from him before sitting on the couch. She had a little bit of reassurance now, after all, Fox didn't seem upset by these three in the least. Had the dog shown even a bit of hesitation of aggression, Mina would likely have locked herself in the bathroom or Papyrus's room. Even with Fox in her arms, she was still terrified to speak, her music quietly playing through the headphones and helping her to stay calm.

All eyes were still on Mina, while Papyrus took it upon himself to retell her story. Everyone had taken the opportunity to sit down, with Mettaton taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch from Mina. He made Blooky sit as well, the much quieter robot sitting between his cousin and the human while Undyne and Papyrus sat on the floor.

At the end of Papyrus's explanation Undyne sighed and crossed her arms. "So that's how it is...Look, sorry for...Well, you know." She grumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. "...Honestly wasn't expecting a human."

"So, Darling...Sans left you in charge of this human?" Mettaton asked, a slight growl to his voice. "While he goes out to enjoy himself at Grillbys?"

" **YES, WELL, NOT EXACLTY, I WAS...** " Papyrus stopped, realization hitting him. " **OH MY GOD I FORGOT TO LET SANS KNOW YOU'RE HERE! WHERE IS MY PHONE?** " Papyrus shouted, springing to his feet and searching frantically for his phone. When he couldn't find it, he let out an annoyed whine and headed for the door. **"PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON THE HU-...MINA, WHILE I GO FETCH THAT LAZYBONES!** "

Before anyone could protest, Paps was out the door, Toby running out after him just before the door closed. Once again, all eyes moved to the still quiet human, who nervously pulled her MP3 player out of her pocket and pressed a few buttons. "..a-Ah...s-Sorry, I...i-I'm not really...Good at talking to others..." Mina whined, blinking as the robot next to her leaned over to look at her MP3 player.

A few awkward minutes of silence passed, the only sound being that of Mina's MP3 player as she looked through her songs. "Ooohh...I haven't heard of that song...Is it something from the human world?" Blooky asked, genuinely curious when Mina lingered on a particular song. This sparked Mettaton's interest, though it seemed the black and pink robot was more interested in having a laugh at the human's expense. "My dear Papyrus said you could sing, human...Why not demonstrate? I'm sure Blooky would love to hear something from the human world."

"i-I..." Mina blushed in embarrassment, shifting uncomfortably on the couch. She sighed, hearing an annoyed growl from Undyne, glancing over to see her glaring ever so slightly at Mettaton before heading towards the kitchen. "..i-I'm sorry, b-but I'd rather not..." She bit her lip as she heard Blooky sigh softly, hesitating for a moment before taking her headphones off and handing them to the quiet robot. "h-Here, you can listen if you want..." Just before Napstablook could take the headphones from her, a long mechanical arm shot over, Mettaton grabbing both the headphones and the MP3 player with an amused smirk. "h-Hey!"

Papyrus and Sans quickly walked down the path to their house, the shorter skeleton actually taking the lead as he grumbled on annoyance. "Pap, next time just call me. I mean, I trust Undyne and all, but I'd really rather not leave her alone with a human she doesn't know at our house..."

" **UNDYNE AND THE HUMAN ARE JUST FINE, AND THEY'RE NOT ALONE!** " Papyrus corrected, smiling as he continued. " **METTATON AND HIS...COUSIN? THEY ARE ALSO VISITING AT THE MOMENT!** **IT WAS RUDE OF ME TO LEAVE THEM THERE, BUT I COULDN'T FIND MY PHONE AND-...SANS?** " He blinked, surprised to see his brother start off on a dead run towards their house. Not wanting to be left behind, he broke into a run as well. It only took him a second to catch up to his brother, and soon both of them were in front of their house. Before either of them could open the door, a horrendous crash could be heard, as well as the unmistakable sound of Undyne yelling.

Inside the house was a scene of complete chaos, with Mettaton being at the center of it all. He was standing and dusting himself off, clearly unamused at the situation. Right behind him was a mess of cracked glass, which had formerly been the screen of Sans and Papyrus's television set. There was also a broken plate on the floor, with what looked like half eaten pancakes and syrup spilling onto the floor, which both dogs were happily licking at. Mina was nowhere to be seen, and Undyne was making her way back down the stairs. She was the first one to spot the skeleton brothers in the doorway, both of them silent and just staring at the mess in their house. "Alright, before you guys go off, I can explain..."

" **UNDYNE, WHAT HAPPENED?!** " Papyrus shouted, seeming to be more upset than his brother as he looked around the living room in horror. " **WHY IS THE COUCH HALF TORN APART?! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TV?! OH...OH MY GOD, WHERE IS THE HUMAN? IS SHE ALRIGHT?!** "

"...o-Ohhh...s-She's alright, but..." Blooky piped up, still sitting on the mangled couch and looking all too apologetic. "I'm sorry...My cousin just wanted me to have fun on this outing, so he...May have gone a bit overboard. I'm sorry..."

Sans was fine with just staying quiet, walking across the room and passing Undyne as he headed up the stairs. He paused for a moment though, asking one thing as he stood behind Undyne. "...So, when are you planning to get that damn robot out of my house?"

"Right after he cleans up the mess he made." Undyne growled, her eye twitching in annoyance as Papyrus proceeded to ask Mettaton if he were alright or injured. "I stepped away for a moment 'cause I was hungry, found some pancakes in the kitchen and helped myself. When I came back, he was teasing that human over something. Told him to knock it off, then he started in about how she was going to look in the clothes I brought over. He tried taking that blanket away from her and she shoved him away, then ran upstairs."

"...And?" Sans sighed, glancing up the stairs a moment and seeing Papyrus's door was closed. "After she shoved him?"

"Well, he ended up bumping into me, knocked the plate out of my hands...I got pissed and may have tried to stab him with one of my spears, got the couch instead..." Undyne trailed off, muttering a quick sorry to him before sighing and continuing. "Then he started in about my aim being bad since I only have one eye, so I punched him to prove a point. He flew into the tv, and I carried that box up to Paps' room for the human so she could get changed."

Sans didn't say anything else, calmly waking up the stairs and stopping in front of Papyrus's bedroom door. Save for Napstablook, everyone else had begun yelling downstairs, though it was mostly Mettaton and Undyne arguing over who was at fault for the state of the living room. It was hard to hear anything over all the noise, Sans barely being able to hear himself knocking on the door. "Hey, sweetheart, you alright in there?"

"...s-Sans?" Mina answered, unlocking the door and cracking it slightly. "..i-I'm fine..." She sighed, opening the door a bit more and giving him a nervous look. "i-I...Didn't mean to upset anyone, I just..."

"Ehh, don't worry about it." Sans chuckled, taking a step back from the doorway and giving her room to walk out into the hall. "There's always drama when Mettaton is involved, just usually not in my house." He shrugged, taking a moment to look at the clothes Mina had on now. She had on a pair of black leggings, a purple long-sleeved shirt with a wide v-neck that caused it to hang off the sides of her shoulders, and a plain black tanktop underneath it. "Huh...Not a bad look for you." He smiled, walking over to the railing and watching as Undyne stopped Papyrus from helping the grumbling pink and black robot from clean up the mess that had formerly been a tv.

"...t-Thank you." Mina mumbled sheepishly, looking over the railing and blinking slowly. "...I heard something after I came up here, b-but...I didn't think anything like...That...Would happen."

"It's probably better that you were up here, we don't even know how strong you are..." Sans sighed, pausing for a moment and playing out a scenario in his head. ' _Sure, she's human, and she survived the fall down here. Hell, she survived her little meeting with that damned flower, but...'_ He frowned a bit, trying to imagine what could have happened if she had been downstairs amidst Undyne and Mettaton's little scuffle. ' _...If she had still been on the couch, or if Mettaton had tried to retaliate against Undyne...Would she have survived?'_ Letting out another sigh, Sans noticed Undyne ushering both robots out of the house, hearing her mention something to Papyrus about getting them a new couch and television soon.

"..Sans?" Mina spoke up next to him, giving him a bit of a concerned look. "Are you upset?" She asked, continuing as he gave her a confused look. "..w-Well...You're frowning, and you just look..."

"Uhh...I am?" Sans blinked, chuckling a little and shaking his head. "Nah, just thinking is all. I'm not upset." He smiled, remembering his conversation with Toriel earlier. "So...Look, we've gotta talk about something..."

"a-About what?" Mina asked, blinking as one of the robots ran back into the house and hurried up the stairs to where she and Sans were standing. To her relief, it was the quieter one, Napstablook. Both she and Sans turned to look at him, as he scratched the back of his head and held out something Mina had been missing. "o-Oh! My headphones, and my MP3 player...w-When did you-"

"Mettaton...Handed them to me outside." Blooky sighed, trying not to look at either of them. "...Sorry, I don't remember what your name is...My cousin isn't always like that, though...He's actually pretty great..."

"My name...It's Mina, and it's alright." Mina smiled, taking her things from Napstablook and slipping her headphones over her head, letting them sit around her neck. "Thank you so much for giving these back, Blooky." She smiled even more, the blue and silver robot blinking as he looked at her. "You can listen to whatever you want next time, alright?"

"Still getting used to the new body, Napsta?" Sans asked, grinning a little as Napstablook blinked and turned his attention towards him instead. "Do me a favor, will'ya? Next time you're out and around, feel free to stop by, just don't bring your cousin." He said, putting a bit more emphasis on the last part. "Next time he starts up his usual drama in my house...He's gonna have a bad time."

"o-Ohh...You don't mind...If I come over again sometime?" Napstablook smiled slightly, seeing Sans nod a little. He blinked again, hanging his head a little and starting to head back down the stairs. "i-I'm sorry, I interrupted you before...I have to catch up to Mettaton, or he'll worry."

Once everyone had finally left, and once Papyrus finished taping the ripped parts of the couch so that they could sit comfortably on it, Sans had his brother and their guest take a seat so he could talk to them. "So uh...Yeah, we need to talk about a few things." He started, pausing as he noticed Mina looking at the floor. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad." He chuckled, waiting until she was looking at him before continuing. "So. I talked to Toriel earlier, before I went to Grillbys. Was planning on taking Mina to meet her, since...Y'know, kind of a big deal for a human to be here again. However..." He trailed off, closing his eyes for a moment. "...Tori's against meeting with her right now. Seems there's been a bunch of shady idiots causing trouble at the capital, the kind that would rather kill a human and steal their soul."

"i-I thought you said..." Mina whined a bit, biting her lip as Sans held up one finger.

"Yeah, I know. Most monsters in the underground are fine with Tori's laws regarding humans, but there are still some who really don't like those laws." Sans stated, deciding not to linger on the subject too long. "Anyways, Tori wants us to keep you here for a while, at least until things calm down. I mean, we could always fix up the house in the ruins for you to stay in, howev-"

"n-No!" Mina shouted suddenly, even standing up. She was shaking a little hugging herself and closing her eyes tightly. "i-I...p-Please, not that place...i-I...I feel safer...Where there are other people. i-If I were to stay there...t-That flower...Lives there, doesn't it?"

"Calm down, I was getting to that." Sans sighed, crossing his arms as Papyrus stood up and placed a hand on Mina's shoulder to comfort her. "Like I was saying, I don't think that would be a good idea. That doesn't leave us with many options though. I mean, you could probably go stay with Undyne and Alphys, but I'd need to talk to them about it, and...Well, Mettaton is always there unless he has a show to do."

" **BROTHER WHY DO WE NOT JUST CLEAN OUT...THE GARAGE...AND LET THE HUMAN LIVE THERE?** " Papyrus asked, getting an odd look from Mina. " **...OR! WE COULD CLEAN OUT THE CLOSET UPSTAIRS FOR HER!** "

"Paps, the garage would be way too cold for her, and the closet is a closet." Sans chuckled, thinking for a moment. "...Actually, stay here a sec." He said, teleporting out of the room suddenly.

" **SANS WHAT DID YOU JUST...UGH WHY HAS HE NEVER TOLD ME HE COULD DO THAT?!** " Papyrus yelled, sighing and plopping back down onto the couch, Mina sitting as well. "... **I WONDER WHERE HE WENT**..."

"...Would...You and your brother really be alright with it if...If I stayed here?" Mina asked quietly, closing her eyes as Papyrus looked towards her. "You two...Are very nice, but I...You hardly know me..."

" **NONSENSE, I KNOW YOU'RE MY FRIEND**!" Papyrus shouted, reaching over and pulling the surprised girl into a hug. " **NOT JUST MY FRIEND, BUT SANS'S FRIEND AS WELL. THAT'S WHO YOU ARE, AND IF YOU NEED A PLACE TO STAY, WE'D BOTH BE HAPPY TO LET YOU STAY WITH US!** "

It was then that Sans appeared back in the living room, a big grin present on his face. "So uh...Found a place for you to stay, Mina, just need to work on it a little." He chuckled, brushing some dust from his sleeves. "Pap, I'm gonna need your help, and uh...There's still one more thing I need to talk to Mina about."

" **OF COURSE, SANS**." Papyrus smiled, tilting his head a little as Sans gave him a look.

"So...I called Undyne back, she'll be here soon. I asked her to show Mina around for a while while we get things fixed up for her, but first...Could you let go of her, Pap?" Sans asked, looking to Mina after his brother let her go and seeing a slightly confused look in her eyes. "While I know Undyne wouldn't let anything happen to you, I still...Well, to be honest I'm a bit concerned on how you'll do if you're ever out on your own. I don't expect you to have to fight anyone around here, but just to be safe, I need to see something."

"s-See what?" Mina asked, blinking as a dark blue heart appeared in the air right infront of Sans. It spooked her a bit, the girl standing up and wincing a bit as she felt an odd sensation in her chest. "w-What...Is happening...?" She whimpered, a pale pink, almost white heart suddenly floating out from her chest. There was a familiar blue glow around it, the same blue now covering Sans's hand and sparking in his left eye. "s-Sans?"

"Sorry, but I had to take a look." Sans said, sighing quietly. "Damn, you're almost as weak as me, sweetheart." He chuckled halfheartedly, looking over her stats. _'1 attack, 3 defense, 5/5 hp...Shit, even Frisk had 20 hp when she first fell down here...'_ He thought to himself, letting the glows fade and moving closer to inspect the pale colored heart. "Let me explain...This thing here, this heart? That's your soul. It's a bit complicated, but I'll explain it later."

"..That's...My soul?" Mina asked, the pale pink heart floating into her hands. "...This is where..." She trailed off, blinking and biting her lip a little. "..n-Nevermind...Uhm..." She tilted her head, seeing what looked like buttons floating in the space in front of her. In her mind, she could hear a voice saying something. ' _ **Sans is sparing you.'**_ Seeing similar 'buttons' in front of Sans, she followed his example and pressed the button labeled 'Mercy', her soul floating back into her chest after a moment. "...That...Was different.."

"Yeah, I'll bet it was." Sans chuckled, scratching the back of his skull. "Well...Since no one around here would ever attack you, I think you'll be fine. Besides, Undyne will be keeping an eye on you, so you're definitely safe."

" **SANS, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SCARE HER LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW...** " Papyrus chided, crossing his arms and giving his brother a look. " **ALSO, WHERE IS IT THAT MINA IS GOING TO BE STAYING? YOU SAID YOU NEEDED MY HELP?** "

"Yeah, I'll show you once Undyne's here." Sans grinned, looking back at Mina for a moment. "It's still here, just uh...Just think of it as a surprise. Oh yeah, uh...If Paps finished cleaning my hoodie, you can wear that while you're out with Undyne. If you want to, I mean. I'm sure it'll be warmer than just going out in what you've got on now."

"o-Oh..a-Alright." Mina nodded slowly, remembering that Papyrus had placed the hoodie back in Sans' room before Undyne and the others had arrived earlier. "u-Uhm..." Before she could say anything else, a loud knock came from the door, Mina instantly bolting up from the couch and running up the stairs to Papyrus's room. "l-Let me get changed!"

With Mina upstairs, and with Papyrus letting Undyne into the house, Sans took the moment to teleport back to where he had been before. He coughed a bit as he reappeared in a very dim room, sighing and looking around at several piles of old boxes. "Heh...I'd forgotten about this place..." He smiled slightly, glancing at an old worn desk in a corner of the room, a few dust covered papers covering the surface of it. "...You used to bring all your old research files back home and just left them all here. Well, I'm sure you won't mind now if I store this stuff in the basement..." Hearing the telltale sound of the front door closing, Sans nodded to himself and made his way over to a small door in the floor, opening it and taking a deep breath. "Paps, I'm up here! Hurry up!"

" **SANS WHERE ARE YOU YELLING FROM!?** "

"Look in the closet." Sans shouted, chuckling as he heard Paps clambering up the stairs and grinning as his brother opened the closet door. "Heh...I guess there really was a skeleton in the closet, eh Pap?"

Papyrus simply gave his brother a dull look, trying to ignore the pun for the moment. " **...SANS WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE? IS THERE A ROOM IN THE HOUSE THAT I DON'T KNOW ABOUT?!** "

"Yeah, Paps, you probably don't remember...Someone used to live up here when we were kids. You were just a little bitty babybones back then." Sans smiled, moving out of the way so Papyrus could climb up into the room with him. "Think she'll like it up here? I mean, it's as big as both of our rooms combined, so...We just need to move everything and clean it up. I'm pretty sure there's a bed under the boxes over there." He motioned across the room, to where a bit of light was filtering in behind a mountain of boxes. "Window is there, too, and there's a dresser somewhere..."

" **WELL...I SUPPOSE ONCE IT'S CLEANED UP, IT COULD BE SUITABLE...** " Papyrus looked around glancing back to the 'door' in the floor. " **...BUT I HAVE TO WONDER HOW SUCH A SHORT PERSON WILL BE ABLE TO CLIMB IN AND OUT OF HERE..**."

"Ehh, we can get a ladder to keep in the closet." Sans chuckled, closing his eyes a moment. "...Look, I'll take care of the boxes, you clean everything else up. Deal?"

" **SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. BUT WHERE DO YOU PLAN ON PUTTING ALL OF THIS STUFF?** "

"I've got a place, don't worry. Anyway, we should have this place done by the time they're back, I asked Undyne to keep Mina busy for at least a few hours."

" **WELL THEN...LET'S GET TO WORK!** "


	4. Chapter 3 - A 'Friendly' Reminder

****Well folks, I finished this chapter sooner than I thought I would! I honestly never thought this fanfic would have so many views in such a short span of time! I want to thank all of my viewers, just seeing how many of you have come to read my story fills me with so much confidence and determination! The few reviews I've gotten have been nothing but positive, and I have to hug you guys for that, too! Since there are no reviews to answer, I've added a little bonus thing to the end of the chapter, and may do more little 'diary' entries every few chapters! ****

***A new cover image is up! A special shout-out to Teoft, who drew this AMAZING scene between Sans and Mina from Chapter 2! Teoft, you're amazing and I'd hug you to death if I could!***

"NGAHHH!" Undyne roared, taking out her frustrations by kicking the side of a small, snow-covered sentry post some ways away from Snowdin. "Why does it have to be so damn COLD here all the time!?" She growled, her eye twitching a little as a pair of small dogs barked at her from behind the human she was 'babysitting'. "Remind me, why the hell did you bring those things along?"

"u-Uhm...i-I only meant to bring Fox with me..." Mina chuckled nervously, pulling the fluffy hood further down around her face as a cold wind blew. "..I just...Feel a lot better knowing she's nearby...t-Toby tagged along on his own." She smiled, not seeming to be anywhere near as bothered by the situation as Undyne was. Seeing how agitated the fish-woman was, though, did make Mina think twice before speaking. She didn't want to bother her more than needed, or run the risk of being yelled at.

"Tch...Whatever." Undyne grumbled a bit, rubbing her hands together to try to keep them warm. Why Sans had asked her to take this human out and show her the area around Snowdin, she had no clue, but she was curious enough to do it. She had become even more curious when she picked the girl up, not expecting to see her wearing Sans's hoodie. Deciding now was as good a time as any, she decided to ask her question. "...So uh...You do know Sans never takes that damn thing off, right?"

"Huh?" Mina blinked, tilting her head a little as she followed Undyne around. It took her a moment to register what Undyne meant, her cheeks flushing slightly as she patted the fluff of the hoodie. "...o-Oh...i-I didn't know...He ah...He let me use it lastnight, since mine was...w-Well, a-anyway...h-He said I could use it again today..."

"Heh...Honestly, I've never seen him without it on until today. I don't think anyone else has either, 'cept Paps." Undyne chuckled, flashing the girl a toothy grin. "That's probably why everyone in town was staring at you. They're probably all thinking 'What the hell did this person do to end up wearing Sans's hoodie'...I'll bet the rumors are already starting up." She laughed, laughing even more as Mina's face turned a new shade of red.

"i-I hope they don't...s-Start up any bad rumors..." Mina sighed, closing her eyes for a moment and thinking to herself. "...s-Sans...Has been very nice to me...h-honestly, all of you have, so far...I...Always believed in the old stories, about monsters and magic. I thought, if the stories were real..." She trailed off, shaking her head and chuckling a little. "I have to say, I never thought I'd actually meet any monsters. It was surprising, too..."

"Oh? What was so surprising?" Undyne asked, stopping to look over her shoulder at Mina as she fussed with the fluffy hood. "And what's with that stupid look on your face?"

"...w-Well, when I first saw Sans, I uh..." Mina paused, biting her lip slightly and looking at something in the distance. "...Well, I thought, being a skeleton...He'd be cold...But when he gave me his jacket, it was so warm..." She smiled a little, closing her eyes as she turned back towards Undyne. "I can only assume that's more magic at work...It's strange, but it's comforting at the same time. Comforting to know that I'm not so different from you all."

"Heh...Well, you're still a human." Undyne chuckled, actually smiling a bit. "Hell, you're starting to remind me of that kid. Maybe that's why Sans was so willing to help you." She grinned, deciding to have a bit of fun as she lead Mina down a hill. "Then again, you aren't exactly a kid. Pretty cute too, for a human I guess...Maybe that's why he's been so helpful. I mean, the only other human any of us have known was a little kid, and Sans _is_ a guy, so..."

Mina had started blushing hard about halfway through Undyne's teasing, sighing a little and shaking her head. "Could we please change the subject..." She mumbled, shaking her head again and making a face as Undyne laughed at her. "i-I mean...He is nice, but...i-I hardly know him, and...w-Well, he hardly knows me, as well." Another sigh escaped Mina as she closed her eyes, as she thought to herself for a few moments. ' _Besides, he's a skeleton...Even if he is a guy, he probably doesn't have those kinds of thoughts...Right?'_ She stopped in her tracks for a split second, remembering the face he had made the night before. ' _...Does...Sans have those kinds of thoughts?'_

"You coming or what?" Undyne shouted from a ways down the hill. "Don't fall too far behind, you might get lost out here!"

"c-Coming!" Mina yelped, doing her best to run down the snowy hill without slipping or falling. They had come to a little clearing with what looked to be a snow sculpture of a familiar looking skeleton, though the sculpture was much more buff looking. "..Is...That supposed to be Papyrus?" Mina giggled, looking around and seeing a few others, one looking like Undyne in a suit of armor. "Oh wow..."

"Nice, eh? Paps showed me this place a while ago, so a few of us came back and carved ourselves out of snow." Undyne grinned, motioning to a small dragon looking snow sculpture. "Alphys couldn't make it out here, so I made one for her, too."

"This one is Alphys?" Mina smiled, leaning down a bit to inspect the sculpture. It was a bit more detailed than the other sculptures, making her think Undyne put a bit more time and effort into it. "It's really cute, Undyne! I'm sure Alphys would love it...Why didn't she come make one with the rest of you though?"

"Ahh...Well..." Undyne sighed, still managing a small smile. "...She doesn't like leaving her lab. It took me a while just to get her talking to everyone again. See, Alphys...She locked herself in her lab, pretty much cut off communication with everyone after Frisk left. About the only way she'd talk to anyone was through texts."

"Oh...Uhm, do you happen to know why?" Mina inquired, glancing up at Undyne for a moment as she sighed. "i-I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry..."

"It's fine, just not my place to say anything about her reasoning." Undyne shrugged, glancing around for a moment before her stomach growled. She had only had a small bite of the pancakes Mina made that morning, and they had been outside for almost two hours now. "Tch...I should have grabbed something else earlier..."

"Ahh..." Mina looked around for a second, blinking and making her way over to a simple pile of snow with a name sloppily written in ketchup. "..Uhm...What happened to this one?"

"Pfff, Sans is too lazy to actually make a snowman, so he just does that." Undyne laughed, stretching a little and taking one more look around. "Mind staying here for a bit? I'm gonna go grab something, I won't be too far away. You can just yell if you need something, I'll hear you." She grinned, already starting to walk back up the hill as Mina started protesting. "You'll be fiiiiine, I'll only be a minute."

"But..." Mina sighed, frowning a bit and looking at the two dogs playing in the snow near her. "...I guess I'll be alright for a short time..." She grumbled a bit to herself, looking back at the pile of snow that had Sans's name written on it. "...I don't think he's lazy at all..." She smiled, but the smile was quickly replaced by a look of concern as Fox started growling next to her. "...Fox, what is it?"

The little dog hadn't growled at anything since they had left the ruins the evening before, so for her to be growling now was a definite sign that something was wrong. She wasn't just growling anymore either, her fur standing on edge as she bared her little fangs and snarled at something hiding behind a few snow-covered rocks. "Well golly, I almost mistook you for that stupid comedian!" An all too familiar voice chuckled, a few yellow petals sticking out from behind the rocks. "I see you've still got that angry furball with you...That's too bad." Flowey said, muttering the last bit to himself.

"y-You just stay away from me..." Mina trailed off, picking up fox and quickly standing. By now, Toby had grown curious about the other dog being so upset, and had begun barking as well. "I...i-I won't fall for anything you say, s-Sans told me-"

"Aww...You actually believe the smiley trashbag? Honestly, I was only playing around, I just wanted to see if you were the kind of person who wouldn't fight back, or if you were a danger to everyone else!" Flowey exclaimed, leaning out enough to show his frowning face. "If you had fought back or tried to kill me, I don't think I would have been able to win...You humans are so much stronger than us monsters." He continued, his frown deepening as he turned his head down. "If you had tried to fight back, or if you had killed me, then the others would have been in danger...But you didn't!"

"i-I...I couldn't hurt anyone, even if I wished to..." Mina bit her lip, Fox still snarling in her arms and glaring at the flower. "b-But Fox can...y-You should leave, if Fox doesn't feel safe with you here, neither do I...s-So please...Please go away."

"...Heh...Golly, you must really hate me. Alright, I'll leave...But you really shouldn't trust that trashbag." Flowey said calmly, turning his face up a bit and giving a wicked grin. "You know, I haven't killed any humans, but that trashy comedian...He's killed humans plenty of times...You can even ask him, if you don't believe little old me..." Letting out a small chuckle, Flowey vanished into the ground, Toby running over and barking at the ground where the flower had been.

Fox started to calm down as soon as the flower vanished, looking up at Mina and whining quietly at her. Mina however, was far from being able to calm down, falling to her knees in the snow and simply hugging Fox as tightly as she could while she trembled. "i-I'm okay...i-It's g-gone, i-I...i-I'm okay..." She repeated over and over to herself, not hearing anyone calling for her or the sound of approaching footsteps.

Back in Snowdin, things were progressing smoothly. Sans had managed to get most of the boxes moved into the basement, the rest being moved into the garage since there was more space for them there. Papyrus had succeeded in removing the majority of the dust and what cobwebs had formed in the large room, and had already made sure to bring the extra bedding up into the room as well. He didn't understand why Sans insisted on him bringing two blankets and extra pillows up, or why he insisted on bringing in a second bed from the garage, but he decided not to push the question.

There was one thing Papyrus had noticed, above all other things. When Sans had received a call earlier, he had looked happier than he had been in years. It wasn't long after that Sans brought up the second bed, disappearing moments later once he had asked Paps to finish cleaning the room. " **HONESTLY...IF I FIND OUT THAT LAZYBONES RAN OFF TO GRILLBY'S AGAIN**..." Papyrus sighed, shaking his head and continuing to sweep up the remaining dust. "... **I HOPE ONE OF THEM RETURNS SOON, IT'S TOO QUIET HERE ALONE**..."

While he wasn't at Grillby's, Sans was still out of the house. Feeling confident that Papyrus had the rest of the work under control, he decided to go out and find the girls. He hadn't been in such a good mood in a very long time, a genuine smile on his face for the first time in years. As he walked through the outskirts of Snowdin, he closed his eyes and recalled the conversation he had on his phone.

 _"We're not quite done yet Undyne..." When he had answered the phone, he had been expecting Undyne to be calling about something, but he had been pleasantly surprised to hear a different voice_. " _So if you could just keep-"_

" _Sans! Sans I've missed you so much! You have no idea how happy I am to actually hear your voice right now!" Frisk laughed on the other end of the phone, the sound of a running engine and the honking of horns echoing in the background. "Not that I can hear you really well at the moment, everything is so loud at this station."_

 _"Oh my god, wait." Sans had practically shouted, quickly teleporting into the basement so Papyrus wouldn't hear the conversation. "Heh...Wasn't expecting you to call, kiddo!"_

 _"I can tell!" Frisk laughed again, and Sans swore he could hear her smiling on the other end. "So listen, the weather up here has been a bit crazy...I was hoping to be at Mt. Ebott by now, but the roads are completely blocked off. I heard someone talking to a road crew who stopped in here earlier, they said the roads should be cleared in the next two or three days, so I should still make it there before the week is up. Isn't that great?"_

 _"Yeah, sure is, kid." Sans smiled, pausing as he remembered his conversation with Toriel. "Kid, that reminds me...How are you planning on getting back down here? 'cause uh...I'll be honest, things have been a little hectic recently."_

 _"Well, if it weren't for all this snow, I'd probably just walk back through the barrier, but..." Frisk sighed, a loud truck horn blaring in the background. "..I won't miss this at all...Anyway, I'll probably have to use the same entrance as last time."_

 _"So you're gonna_ _ **drop in**_ _for a visit like before, eh?" Sans chuckled, grinning as Frisk giggled on the other end. "I can't understand how you guys survived that fall to begin with..."_

 _"What do you mean by 'you guys', Sans?" Frisk asked curiously, continuing a moment later. "And what did you mean when you answered the phone, when you thought I was Undyne?"_

 _"Ahh right! Kid, you might not believe this, but we had another human fall down here." Sans stated, continuing before the inevitable questions began. "She's a lot older than you were when you ended up down here, and uh...For certain reasons, she's staying with us here in Snowdin. It's actually a good thing you called when you did, Paps and I were just finishing cleaning up a place for her to stay. There's actually room enough for you too, if you wanna crash here for a bit when you arrive."_

 _"Did she freak out over everyone being a monster?" Frisk giggled, pausing for a moment and thinking to herself. "Oh, better question..."_

 _"She didn't really freak out..." Sans hesitated, tilting his head slightly. "...What's the better question, kid?"_

 _"Is she hot?" Frisk asked, erupting in a small fit of laughter as Sans scrambled to grab his phone, having dropped it as the question caught him off-guard. "I guess that's a yes!"_

 _"Kid, don't do this to me." Sans chuckled, shaking his head a bit. He should have expected that from the kid who flirted her way through the underground. "Anyway, you want me to set up a bed for you here, or do you plan on staying with Tori once you're back with us?"_

 _"Oh, I wanna stay with you guys for a bit! Plus, I have to meet this other human, don't I?" Frisk asked, the sounds of a very loud horn blasting in the background. "Oh shoot, Sans, I gotta go! I'll talk to you again real soon!"_

"Just a few more days and the kid will be here...Heheh.." Sans chuckled to himself as he continued on his search for Undyne and Mina, deciding to speed up the search by teleporting to the places he thought he would most likely find them at. When he reappeared near the hill leading to the snowmen his brother and friends made, he could just make out Undyne's footprints in the snow, hearing the sound of Toby barking from down the hill as well. "Jeez, they're all the way out here eh?" As he headed down the hill, he could just make out Undyne's voice, a little confused at the tone she was using.

"Come on, just tell me what's got you so freaked out already!" Undyne half shouted, clearly annoyed with the situation. Hearing someone walking up behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and sighed as she spotted Sans approaching. "Well, don't you just have great timing." Taking a step back, she motioned to Mina, who was still sitting quietly in the snow and trembling. "She's all shaken up about something, hasn't said a word since I got back."

"...Got back from what?" Sans blinked, frowning slightly at Undyne before looking to Mina. He could just barely see Fox, noticing how tightly she was holding on to the whimpering little dog as he crouched down next to her. "...What happened before you found her like this, Undyne?"

"Beats me...I wasn't even gone for five minutes." Undyne sighed, waving around a pair of still-wrapped Nicecream bars. "I went to grab something to eat, when I left she was just looking at the snowmen. Came back and she was like this, shaking and telling herself that 'it' was gone and that she was okay."

Sans wasn't happy to hear about Undyne leaving Mina alone, but at the moment he was more concerned about the now silent girl. Sighing a little, he carefully reached over and pulled the hood of his jacket back, revealing her face and her hair. She looked every bit as scared as when he had first met her, leading him to believe he knew what had her so upset. "...Why do I have the feeling that a certain little prick of a flower showed up..." He tried to laugh a bit, sighing as Mina slowly turned to look at him. "...Mind telling me what happened, sweetheart?"

"...i-It...Was behind the rocks." Mina said quietly, her voice almost a whisper. "i-I'm...Not hurt...i-I just..." She trailed off, cowering slightly as Sans placed a hand on her shoulder. Flowey's words kept repeating in her mind, and she honestly wasn't sure if what he said had been true or not. Not wanting to come right out and accuse Sans of anything, she decided she wouldn't be specific about what was said regarding him. "i-It uhm...It thought I was you at first, Sans...j-Just said a few things about...Monsters. Killing humans...i-I'm fine, just...I didn't think I'd see it out here..." She shifted her gaze away from Sans, having seen his expression change slightly when she had given her reply.

"I see..." Sans sighed, removing his hand from her shoulder and glancing over at Undyne. "Paps should be done with the surprise by now, so uh...If you wanna go check it out, feel free to do so." He stated calmly, while still giving Undyne a look that practically screamed 'we'll talk about this later'. Turning his attention back to Mina, he scratched the back of his skull. "So uh...You wanna stay here a while longer, or do you wanna head on home?" He asked, hearing the snow crunching under Undyne's boots as she took her leave. Once she was out of earshot, he sat next to Mina and sighed, the girl still not moving from where she sat. "...Or, do you wanna tell me what really happened?"

"...That flower..." Mina sighed, deciding she couldn't avoid the issue after all. "...It said it hasn't killed anyone, but..."

"Let me guess..." Sans huffed, leaning and falling back into the snow as he did. "It said someone else has, right? I'm not gonna lie, sweetheart...A long time ago, yeah, some monsters did kill humans. After we were sealed underground, we found out we needed human souls if we ever wanted to be free again."

"...So...Humans that ended up down here...?" Mina frowned, glancing over at Sans as he stretched out in the snow.

"Yeah...Before the kid fell down here, the king, Asgore...He had collected six human souls." Sans stated, turning his head a bit and looking around. "I mean, none of us really wanted it to happen, but...Well, everyone down here dreams of being able to see the surface one day, lots of people down here grow up with that dream, and they take it to their grave. Asgore took it upon himself to try to make that dream a reality, but honestly, I think it was killing him inside. He was a really quiet, peace loving guy..."

"...What about that girl, Frisk?" Mina asked, blinking as Sans chuckled a little. "..What's funny?"

"Frisk was a bit of a special case." Sans stated, holding up one hand and waving a finger in the air. "Everyone down here ended up falling for the kid, even Asgore...Even when they eventually fought, Frisk refused to kill him. She won, but she didn't want to hurt him...The souls Asgore had collected up until that time disappeared suddenly, and I guess he saw Frisk as a new beacon of hope for us." Sans turned to look at Mina, giving her a bittersweet smile. "In the end, Asgore gave up his life and his soul, so that Frisk could leave the underground...The kid left, but she promised to find a way to free us."

"Do you think she's found a way?" Mina inquired, smiling a little and finally letting poor Fox out of her arms. Hearing this story from Sans had calmed her down, and she had decided that there was no way he could have killed anyone...That evil little flower must have been lying again, she told herself, waiting and listening as Sans sat up.

"Not sure, to be honest." Sans chuckled as he sat up, relieved that she seemed to be doing better now. "I guess we'll find out in a few days. She said she'd probably be here soon, something about weather issues and roads being blocked on the surface."

"Ahh...I know there was a pretty serious storm when I was up there..." Mina sighed, biting her lip a little. "...I honestly...Can't remember even going to the mountain..." She frowned, closing her eyes for a moment. "...My memory has been a bit fuzzy since I first woke up down here, even before that flower...I guess it doesn't matter anyway. Most of the memories I do have of being on the surface...To be honest, I'd rather forget them." She stated calmly, opening her eyes and smiling at him. "You mentioned before, that Asgore gave up his soul so that Frisk could leave the underground?"

"..Yeah, a human soul alone wouldn't be strong enough." Sans replied, giving her a curious look. "Why do you ask?"

"...I don't think I would ever be able to forgive myself, if someone gave up their soul just so I could leave this place." Mina said, giving him a sad smile. "I haven't been here for very long, but...This place, I already like it better than living on the surface..."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Sans said, standing and brushing the snow off his clothing before holding a hand out to Mina. "You'll probably like it even more when you're not half frozen. How about I take you to Grillby's before we head home?"

"Uhm..." Mina blinked, glancing to Fox for a moment, the little dog barking and wagging her tail at her. Looking back up at Sans, she nodded and slowly took his hand. "w-Will...there be a lot of people there?" She asked as he helped her up, blushing slightly as he chuckled.

"Well, there might be a few there by now, but it's usually not too crowded until later in the day." Sans reassured her, keeping ahold of her hand. "If you don't want to walk all the way back, I know a pretty good shortcut too." He said, leaning down and scooping up Fox with his free hand as Mina nodded. "Alright then.." He grinned, taking a few steps and leading her along.

Before Mina could say anything, she suddenly felt as if she were floating. Everything went black for a split second, then the next thing she knew, she and Sans were walking towards a large door. She recognized the scenery, blinking as she realized they were already back in Snowdin, and right in front of Grillby's.

After setting Fox down, and letting go of Mina's hand, Sans smiled and opened the door. He motioned for Mina to step inside, chuckling a little as she scrambled to pull the hood back over her hair and try to hide her face. "A bit late for that, pretty sure everyone in town has figured it out by now."

"...o-Oh..u-Uhm..." Mina trailed off, a light blush still on her cheeks as she reluctantly pushed the hood back away from her face and stepped inside. There were really only a few people inside of Grillby's at the moment, two of which she recognized. One was Kid, waving his tail as one would wave a hand to say hello. The other was one of the two dogs she had seen playing with Fox that morning, its short tail wagging happily as it stared at her. "It...Really is pretty empty here."

"Told you, nothing to worry about here." Sans grinned, making his way across the room and taking a seat at his usual barstool. "Only other person here is Grillby, and he's probably in the back." He said, glancing over at Kid as he sat at another stool. "No training today?" He asked, smiling at Mina as she took a seat at the stool next to his.

"Nah, not today." Kid yawned, tilting his head and rubbing at his eyes with his tail. "Didn't really sleep all that well...My parents started in about not wanting me to be out so late, and well...It was kind of an eventful day yesterday, you know."

"Ahh...Well, sorry to hear that, buddy." Sans nodded, glancing to the kitchen door as Grillby opened it and walked over to the counter, setting a plate down in front of Kid before blinking at the skeleton and his new companion. "Didn't take as long as I thought after all, Grillby." He chuckled, looking at Mina and smiling as she stared wide-eyed at the fiery monster. "Don't worry, I've known Grillz for as long as I can remember, he's harmless."

"u-Uhm...y-You're...A fire elemental, aren't you?" Mina asked shyly,smiling a little as Grillby nodded to her. She blinked after a moment, realizing both the fiery elemental and Sans were giving her curious looks. "i-I uh...m-My grandfather used to tell me stories about monsters and elementals, when I was younger...s-Sorry, i-I didn't mean to stare..." She shifted her gaze to the counter, blushing a bit more out of embarrassment as Sans chuckled.

"It's quite alright, miss." Grillby chuckled a bit as well, shifting his attention to Sans. "So, what'll it be this time?"

"Ehh, I'm fine for now...Maybe something to warm her up?" Sans smiled, motioning to Mina. "She's been out in the snow for hours, so.."

"I understand." Grillby nodded, heading back into the kitchen after giving Mina a quick glance.

"You really don't want anything, Sans?" Mina asked as she looked over at him, blinking as he shrugged. Sighing a bit to herself, she turned in her seat to look around the room, unzipping the jacket and setting it in her lap after she had taken it off. "I was wondering why it was so much warmer in here...It must be nice for everyone to come here after a long day in the cold."

"Yeah, it is nice. The only one who'd disagree with you is Paps, but only because he hates grease." Sans smiled, watching her curiously. "So, your grandfather taught you about monsters when you were a kid, is that right?"

"Oh, yes...He taught Julian and I a lot of things, but..." Mina smiled, turning back to look at Sans. "Most of what he taught us was about...Well, things people don't believe nowadays. He was always teaching us about monsters and magic, He was...I guess you could say a bit eccentric, by modern standards. Not many humans believe in those things anymore...Monsters, Magic, or people that could use it..."

"You mean the Magicians, right?" Sans grinned a bit, closing his eyes. "Well, they're the reason we're stuck down here, they were plenty real.." He yawned a little, propping his elbows on the counter and resting his head in his hands. "I'm gonna guess there aren't any Magicians anymore, if no one on the surface believes they exist anymore..."

"Well, there are people that call themselves magicians, but they're nothing more than performers..." Mina sighed, biting the inside of her lip a bit. "My grandfather told me that the real magicians were forced into hiding, or at least some of them were...Other humans wanted their power, so they began enslaving magicians after the monsters were sealed underground.."

"Tch...Well, humans are greedy. They sealed us down here because they didn't want to share their power or their world with us." Sans yawned again, giving her a sideways glance. "If they were smart, those magicians would have used their magic to rule over the others, instead of becoming pawns or slaves. Hell, seven of them were strong enough to put up the barrier down here, I can't imagine it would take much power to rule over the rest of the humans without making barriers."

"..I always used to think that maybe...Maybe they never wanted to do any of this to begin with...Silly, isn't it?" Mina chuckled a little, blinking and stopping as the kitchen door opened.

"Sorry for the wait." Grillby said, walking over to the counter. He had a small plate in his hand, a tall mug being placed on it as he set it in front of Mina. "One order of Hot Chocolate, on the house."

"o-Oh...t-Thank you..." Mina blinked slowly, peering at the contents of the mug and smiling cheerfully. She carefully picked up the mug, blowing on it a few times before taking a tentative sip. It wasn't as hot as she had expected it to be, something she was quite thankful for, and she couldn't help but smile. "It's really good!" She giggled, looking to Grillby and trying to figure out the expression on his face. Though she couldn't see a mouth on his face, she easily figured out he was smiling by the soft look of his eyes. "I'd love to come back again sometime, I'll bet everything else is really great too."

"Don't get him all fired up, sweetheart." Sans snickered, doing his best not to look at Grillby as the bartender turned to look at him. "You'll just make him hot under the collar if you say stuff like that."

Mina couldn't help but join in, closing her eyes and smiling playfully. "You're just getting warmed up, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I probably shouldn't joke too much...Wouldn't want Grillby here to turn into a hot head, you know. I mean, I've never seen the guy get angry, but I'll bet he'd be burning with rage if I kept this up."

"Sans." Grillby spoke up, leaning over the bar and stopping a few inches away from the skeleton's face. "While you may be strong, I think I'd be too hot for you to handle if I were really mad. Besides, I really wouldn't want anyone to see me having a meltdown, so I do my best to stay cool."

"Oh my god, Grillz." Sans slapped his hand against his forehead and laughed, Mina laughing as well as Grillby went back to tending to things behind the counter.

The only other person paying attention to the others at the counter, namely Kid, simply groaned and continued with his meal. "You guys are gonna make me lose my appetite." He grumbled, holding a fork with his tail and taking another bite. Not seeming to care much at the moment, he continued speaking while he ate. "So, uhh...What's the plan for our friend here?"

"I uh..." Mina paused, glancing over at Sans for a moment. Seeing him give a simple nod, she turned to face the other two and continued. "I'm going to be staying with Sans and Papyrus for a while." She smiled, taking another sip of her cocoa before continuing. "We get along pretty well, and they've both been very kind...Plus, I...Feel safer around them." She stated, closing her eyes as Kid started speaking.

"Dude, where are you gonna sleep though? The couch?" Kid snorted, knowing all too well what the skeleton brothers' house looked like. "I've been there before, even Undyne has stayed there, there's only two places for anyone to sleep. It's either the couch or Papyrus's room. I haven't seen it, but Undyne said once that Sans's room isn't fit for anyone to live in."

"Oh come on, my room isn't that bad." Sans chuckled, sitting up a bit as Mina finished her cocoa. "Besides, there's actually another room. Paps and I got everything cleaned up and cleared out earlier, so Mina can stay there."

"Uhm...I was going to ask you about that..." Mina chirped, opening her eyes to look at Sans. "I uh...I didn't see another door anywhere upstairs..."

"You'll see once we get home." Sans grinned, sliding off of the barstool and taking a few steps, freezing in place and trying his best not to laugh as he looked at the door. Still inside of Grillby's was the Lesser Dog guard, his face plastered against the window as his tail wagged happily. Outside, peering through the window was a very annoyed looking Fox, a Greater Dog guard sitting in the snow behind her. "Whoops...Forgot about the little pupsicle."

"..Pupsicle...Oh!" Mina gasped, hopping to her feet and starting to put Sans's hoodie back on. "Sans you left Toby all the way...Back..." She trailed off, spotting Fox, and realizing she was standing on something to reach the window. She could just barely see a white ear poking up through Fox's fur, unable to keep herself from laughing. "Oh poor Toby..."

"Well, may as well head on home...See'ya later Grillz." Sans said as he made his way outside, stopping and tilting his head a bit as he looked back and saw Grillby with his hand on Mina's shoulder. "Hmm?"

Mina seemed a little surprised, looking at Grillby for a moment and nodding slowly. "o-Oh...r-Right..." She blinked, turning to face Sans and quickly walking over to the door with him. "Sorry, coming!"

"So, what was that about?" Sans chuckled, watching as Mina kneeled down to pick up Fox.

"Oh, uhm." Mina paused, looking at Fox for a moment before smiling up at Sans. "He uh...He said I could come back anytime, that's all." She replied, turning her attention back to Fox and blinking as the little dog ran a little ways away from her, barking at a few small monster children as they ran by. "Fox, come back!"

Sans just chuckled as Mina chased after Fox, Kid walking out and sighing next to him. "Dude, she's really going to live with you?"

"Mhm, and she won't be the only one, but that's a secret." Sans grinned, giving him a wink. "Few more days and it'll be even more chaotic." He smiled, looking back over at Mina as she smiled and used Fox as a puppet to talk to the children. The older children just laughed, another child looking around before slowly approaching Mina and whispering something to her as the others ran off.

When Mina didn't stand back up, Sans wondered if she was simply tired, walking over and holding a hand out towards her. "Come on, being lazy is my thing, sweetheart." He chuckled, tilting his head a little and crouching down to look at her face. "Mina, what are-...Mina?"

Mina was as quiet as she could possibly be starting to squeeze Fox tightly against her chest and trembling slightly. She jumped a bit when Sans placed a hand on her shoulder, quickly turning to look at him and having a terrified look on her face. "s-...Sans.."

"What's wrong?" Sans whispered, frowning a little and pulling the fluffy hood up to hide her face. "Home isn't too far off..Let's get you out of the cold, alright?"

"...Please." Mina whined, hesitantly taking his hand as he helped her up, only this time it was her turn to not let go. She still had a hold of Fox, the poor little dog whimpering as she was being squeezed too tight by Mina's arm. As she and Sans walked back to the house, she replayed what the child had whispered to her in her mind. _'Uhm...A pretty flower told me to tell ask you something...How long do you think it'll be until the smiley trashbag gets tired of playing nice with you?'_

Once they were back at the house, Sans lead Mina through the door, the frightened girl still holding on to his hand for dear life. He was expecting Papyrus to greet them in his usual boisterous manner, but was surprised to see his brother napping on the couch. "Heh...All that work must have tired him out...So uh...You wanna talk, or should I show you your surprise?"

"..s-Sans..." Mina paused, still not releasing his hand, but not looking at him either. "...Can...I ask you something?...That...That flower, it said that you..."

"...Surprise it is." Sans sighed, calmly leading Mina upstairs and stopping in front of the closet. It took a moment of reassuring her, but he managed to regain use of his hand, opening the closet door and spotting the ladder Papyrus had brought in. Setting it up, he climbed up and opened the door to the room above, once again offering a hand to Mina and helping her climb up. "It's probably not much to look at right now, but it's big enough for anything you could need."

Looking around the room, Mina found herself amazed. There was a dresser, a desk, and plenty of space for anything else she might need, just as he said. She was a bit perplexed at why there were two beds, but she quickly remembered the conversation Sans and Kid had the day before. "Uhm...Your friend, Frisk...Is she going to be staying here too?" She inquired, blinking as she heard Sans closing the door. Turning to look at him, she felt a slight chill run down her spine, a worried look coming to her face as he sighed. "...s-Sans?"

"...So, what exactly did that little weed say?" Sans asked, noticing the look and simply taking a seat on the floor. "...That expression tells me it wasn't anything good. Come on, might as well talk about it now."

"...It...It said you've killed...Humans. Plenty of times...Those souls you said the king had gathered..." Mina paused, biting her lip a little. "..i-I don't want to believe it, but..."

"Ahh...Well, I can tell you this much sweetheart. I didn't kill those humans, and I never took any souls." Sans stated calmly, doing his best to smile as he looked over at her. "I'm not saying I'm a saint or anything like that, but...About all I can say is this. If I felt at any time that I needed to do something, even something I knew I'd hate myself for, or regret...If I had to do something like that to protect what's important to me. Well, I'd probably do it. I can promise you this much though, and I hate making promises by the way..." He paused, letting out another sigh and turning his head, looking across the room to the window. "...You're safe here, and I don't plan on letting anything happen to you. 'course, Papyrus will probably say the same thing, and he never goes back on his word."

"...Do you ever go back on your word, Sans?" Mina asked, placing a hand against her forehead for a moment. All of the stress and upset had given her such a headache, all she really wanted to do at the moment was lay down. Deciding she would lay down and rest after they were done talking, she slowly removed Sans's hoodie, taking a few steps towards him to hand it to him. She could vaguely hear him saying something as she held the jacket out, her world spinning as she started to lose her balance and stumble. This had happened a few times before when she had been stressed out, and she was mentally kicking herself for letting it happen now. Rather than falling though, she found herself being held up by Sans. "..w-What?"

"I asked if you were alright, but...I see now that you're just falling for me." Sans chuckled, shaking his head a bit at his own ill-timed pun. "Seriously though, you okay?" Seeing her shake her head, he sighed and helped her over to one of the beds, helping her lay on her side and crouching down next to the bed. "...You've had a pretty rough day, so why not rest a bit?"

"..Yeah...I think I should...u-Uhm..." Mina hesitated, biting her lip a bit as she continued. "...I'm...Sorry for all the fuss...There's no way I can believe that flower." She said, managing a small smile as she closed her eyes. "...You really are too nice to have killed anyone, much less a human...I can't believe that flower even put a kid up to upsetting me over this..."

"Heh..." Sans sighed quietly, standing and starting to walk away when he heard her mumble something. "You say something, sweetheart?"

"...I...Don't want to be alone right now..." Mina repeated, closing her eyes and doing her best to give him a smile.

"...Alright, I'll just sit here until you fall asleep then, sound good?" Sans smiled a little, slipping his hoodie on and taking a seat on the floor as Mina pulled a blanket over herself. He jumped a little as Fox crawled into his lap, he was sure Mina had left her downstairs. "How'd you get up here, eh?" He whispered quietly and chuckled, gently petting the little dog and sighing after a moment.

A good ten minutes had past, and Sans soon found himself yawning as he looked around the room. ' _Jeez...That damned weed really has it out for her, doesn't he? She hasn't even been down here for an entire day yet. I wonder if he stalked Frisk like this...Wait, does he think she can Reset, like the kid?'_ Sans thought to himself, glancing over at Mina to see if she had managed to fall asleep yet. Confirming that she was asleep, Sans quietly stood and walked over to her bed, placing Fox next to her before teleporting downstairs. ' _...Is that why he attacked her as soon as she entered the underground? Yeah...I guess that would be the easiest way to find out, and he'd still be able to take her soul if she wasn't able to Reset...'_

Once he was downstairs, Sans made it a point to take out his phone, dialing Undyne's number and heading to his room so he could chat with her. It took her a few moments longer than usual to answer, and when she finally did she didn't speak. "...Well, you picked up at least, so I'll try not to yell at you over what happened." Sans sighed, sitting next to his bed as he continued. "So, what happened with Mina is this...That little prick of a weed showed up and said some stuff that really upset her. She's alright, she's in her new room resting now. Thing is, even when I was with her in town, that flower managed to stir up more trouble for her so...I can't really be mad at you for what happened. I was right there with her and didn't even realize what was going on."

"Heh...Sounds like we both managed to screw up then." Undyne half chuckled on the other end of the phone, Sans noticing the sounds of running water in the background. "Hey, how about I make up for it later? I can bring over a pizza or something for everyone, we could have a little party to make the human...Er, I mean Mina...To make her feel better."

"Sounds like a plan, you might wanna call Paps and let him know, though. He's taking a nap downstairs...S'actually a pretty good idea right about now." Sans yawned, leaning back against his bed. "See if you can get Alphys to come, too...It'd do her some good to get out of the lab." He heard Undyne mutter something on the other end, hearing a quick 'bye' before she hung up. "Heh...Maybe I should invite Grillz and Kid over...But first I think I'll follow Paps and Mina's examples." He yawned once more, this time crawling up onto his bed and burying his face in a pillow before quickly nodding off.

The Diary of a Dog, Entry #1 and Entry #4

While everyone else slept, a certain small white dog rummaged through Mina's backpack, which was still sitting in Papyrus's room. Finding a small pink notebook in the bottom, the dog wagged his tail and proceeded to chew on it, the notebook falling open as he pulled it out of the backpack. Upon the exposed pages was what looked like some sort of ancient language, Toby taking interest in the writing and sniffing it. If he could read it, he might have seen the following written.

The first entry would be simple enough to understand, if anyone could read the writing.

" _Date - 13, 8, 20XX - A small city whose name escapes me_

 _Dear Diary,_

 _It happened. It finally happened. We finally left the dark old house belonging to that horrible old man and his attendants! While I know I will miss certain persons who remain locked in servitude within those walls, I am quite sure the two of us will be happier being free from the expectations of that manipulative old conjurer. I've decided to keep a journal of our adventures from this day forward, though I am sure there won't be anything too interesting to write about."_

The second and third entries, at this point, had become covered in mud and were mostly illegible. The fourth entry however, seemed to still be fresh, still written in the same language and being much longer than the other entries.

" _Date - 20, 12, 20XX - Underground?_

 _Dear Diary, I regret to admit this, but today has been a most wretched day! Not only were we caught in a snowstorm, but somehow we managed to find ourselves in a most peculiar place. I remember reading about this place, and hearing that old fool speak about it in one of his lessons. Considering what I am, I should not be surprised to find out that this place truly exists. While we survived the storm, we almost lost our lives upon falling through a large crack in the ground, the only thing that may have possibly saved us being a bed of flowers and a bit of my magic. Still, we endured a rough landing, and it took us a few moments to recover._

 _We hadn't even had time to fully recover though, when a strange creature began speaking to us. Being what I am, I easily detected the creature's true intent, but since I am unable to communicate directly with my companion, I could not warn her. The creature soon revealed itself to be a small talking flower, a monster to be sure. Just as I predicted, it attacked my companion, and I was forced to take action. I do wish I had been able to use more of my power, but with my companion so injured, and having used a good deal of my own power to protect us when we fell, it was all I could do to chase the beast off._

 _While I chased the vicious plant through the underground, I realized we were in a set of old ruins, soon finding myself in front of a large door. I managed to open the door just in time to see the flower retreating underground. Naturally I tried to give chase, but was caught off-guard when I saw two creatures approaching in the distance. They must have spotted me, because they began to quicken their pace. Hiding within the shadows of the ruins, I witnessed one of the creatures, which I soon realized was a living skeleton of some sort, vanish into thin air!_

 _Fearing for my companion's safety, I quickly made my way back to where I had left her, the other creature passing me without spotting me. Reaching the room where my companion lay in the snow, I was shocked to see the monsters pulling her from the snow, and my protective instincts kicked in. Being too tired to properly drive the monsters away, I tried to simply intimidate them. As I listened to them speaking though, it became clear they meant my companion no harm, something which came as a great relief indeed._

 _The skeleton in particular seemed to want to help my companion, and in what seemed like a moment of desperation to get her to speak, he plucked me from her arms and proceeded to use me as a doll, speaking as if I were the one speaking. While this infuriated me to no end, it made my companion smile._

 _Eventually the skeleton took us to a small town, something that I hadn't expected to see at all. While he went to procure food for my companion, we continued on to his home, where his overly childish brother greeted us with...Confusion and no small amount of naivety. I was not at all pleased to find another dog in the home, and I fully plan on setting down the ground rules with that annoying creature. While I call him a dog, he doesn't seem so different from me, a fact that, while still annoying, I find comforting."_

The last entry seemed to have dried only recently, though the question still remained whether or not anyone could understand the writing. Toby, having become bored chewing on the diary, decided to leave it and left to find something better to gnaw on...Perhaps an action figure.


	5. Chapter 4 - History Lessons

***** Whee! The fourth chapter is here~ I know it's been going a bit slow, as far as the days/progression going inside the story, but it'll be picking up soon! So on that note...Going from somewhere around 700 views before the start of the last chapter, to almost 1300 views before posting this one...Doubling the view count in just 11 days. Was so awesome to see.*****

****Note, there is no 'Diary' entry for this chapter! I've decided to do those every three chapters or so. ^^ As for the reviews I've gotten so far, again, I want to thank everyone who has commented! If anyone has any questions about the fic, or about what I might have planned for it, feel free to ask a question in a review! I'd love to answer some questions, but I won't give away any big spoilers~ Also...If anyone paid any attention to the dates in Fox's little 'diary', then you might have noticed how close the last entry was to a certain holiday. d( 'v' )z There are reasons for this, folks, but you'll have to wait a bit to find out!****

***I'll note, the skeleton spoken about in Grillbys's story in this chapter is a character I came up with specifically for the story, but I really love the ideas I came up with for his character, design and backstory. While he isn't a main character in this fanfic, I may write another one later on that better explains what the world was like before the war. I already have ideas for tying my little headcanon in with a possible timetravel based fic, and if I do write it he'll be one of the main characters. I may even draw him one day~ Also, this chapter contains my little headcanon for how humans became able to use magic way back before the war. Hopefully you guys like it!***

**Undertale and its characters belong to Toby Fox. Mina, Fox and Roman belong to me~**

*.*.*.*

As the hours ticked by, Mina found herself tossing and turning in her sleep. A strange sound woke her from her slumber, the young woman yawning quietly and slowly sitting up. Looking around her new room, she let out a content sigh, blinking as she spotted a door on the wall across from her. She could have sworn the way into the room had been a door in the floor, and being curious, she stood and walked over to inspect. Hesitating for a moment, she opened the door and stepped through, arriving in a very familiar place.

In what appeared to be a small classroom filled with old books and historical artifacts, Mina could see three people sitting at a round table - An older man with hints of white and grey barely visible in his hair, a young boy with snowy white hair, and a small girl with shimmering silver hair. She realized who they were instantly, and frowned as she realized she was dreaming. "...When was the last time I came to this room...I don't even remember."

"Julian, perhaps you can tell me why the war started?" The old man spoke up, motioning to the young boy. "Your sister had better not be the only one studying our history.."

"Pfff...Fine, the war started because Monsters are greedy, and would steal the souls of us humans to increase their own power." The boy replied, grinning a bit as he continued. "But they forgot, we humans had Magicians on our side! We thrashed'em good and the Magicians locked them underground!"

"Uhm..." The small girl chimed in, a frown clearly visible on her face. "I don't think that's...I don't think that's right, Juli..."

"Of course it is!" The younger image of Julian laughed, letting out a yelp as the old man whacked him over the head with a walking stick. "Oww! That's what happened though, I read the books, I swear!"

"Perhaps you would care to correct his story, Mina?" The old man huffed, giving the girl a slight glare. "After all, it seems as if you can't keep quiet, even when I specifically ask that fool brother of yours to answer by himself."

As if on cue, both Mina and her childhood self chuckled, closing their eyes and speaking at the same time. "Long ago, monsters and humans lived together in harmony. One day though, humans became greedy, and became fearful that the monsters would try to steal their power. Though the monsters had magic at their disposal, they did not fight back. The defended themselves, but they did not kill. When they were driven underground, the humans turned to their magicians to destroy them. Instead, the magicians sealed the monsters underground, refusing to slaughter those who would not fight back."

"Very good...Now, what happened to the magicians afterwards?" The old man asked, taking a seat and crossing his arms. "Also...What role are those who keep this knowledge to play in modern times?"

"...The remaining magicians..." The younger image of Mina frowned, hanging her head a little and looking away. "...The remaining magicians were forced to obey the ruling humans, and were made to commit far more treacherous acts, or those close to them would be slaughtered...Other humans coveted the magicians powers, and tried to take them as their own. Those magicians who managed to free themselves hid away from the world, and their knowledge faded into legend..." The girl sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "People who have learned the truth about the magicians, or who are thought to be their descendants...Are supposed to keep the legends alive, and are to undo the mistakes of the ancient magicians..."

"Which means what though?" Julian yawned, obviously bored with all of this. "If we're supposed to fix their mistakes, shouldn't we just go kill all the monsters, if they're still alive?"

"That is one possibility, Julian. Though I do not believe it to be possible, since you do not possess the gift of magic, like the ancient magicians did."

"Pff! I don't need magic!" Julian laughed, standing up in his chair. "I can just beat them up! I can learn to use a sword, or any other weapon!"

"As expected from such an unruly child." The old man grumbled, looking to the image of Mina. "Now, child...What do -you- intend to do?"

"...Why am I even dreaming of this right now..." Mina sighed as she watched her younger self, the little girl staying quiet as tears formed in her eyes. "...What kind of person even considers asking children something like that..." As she watched herself, Mina could hear the old man speaking again, his voice fading as another voice grew louder. "...What?"

" **HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO NAP FOR? I SWEAR, SANS IS SUCH A BAD INFLUENCE ALREADY...** **"** Papyrus sighed, looking down at Mina as she woke up. " **YOU'VE BEEN ASLEEP FOR HALF THE DAY!"** He exclaimed, pausing for a moment as she sat up and yawned. " **DO...YOU LIKE YOUR NEW ROOM? I KNOW IT WAS SANS'S IDEA, BUT THAT LAZYBONES HAD ME DO MOST OF THE WORK..."**

 **"** I love it, Papyrus." Mina smiled, still half asleep as she stretched and rubbed her eyes. "It's very cozy here, it made it very easy for me to fall asleep." She giggled a bit as Papyrus smiled brightly, looking around and spotting her backpack sitting on the dresser nearby. She also took a moment to look at the window, seeing how dark it had gotten outside. "I really didn't mean to sleep so long..."

" **DO NOT FEAR, MY FRIEND! YOU MAY HAVE SLEPT LONGER THAN YOU MEANT, BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MADE SURE TO WAKE YOU FOR DINNER!"** Papyrus exclaimed, pausing for a moment and then sighing. **"THOUGH...I AM SORRY TO SAY, SANS REFUSED TO LET ME COOK DINNER TONIGHT...HE SAID SOMETHING WAS ALREADY PLANNED, AND ASKED ME TO STAY UP HERE FOR A BIT WITH YOU."**

"Oh, that's alright." Mina smiled, setting her hands in her lap as she dangled her legs off the side of the bed. "If you're afraid you'll be bored...Uhm...Well, we could ask each other questions, to find out more about each other." She laughed a bit, tilting her head as she listened to a sound coming from downstairs.

" **THAT IS A WONDERFUL IDEA!"** Papyrus cheered, jumping and taking a seat on the end of Mina's bed. " **FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANYTHING!"**

"Uhm...Alright, let me think.." Mina smiled, turning to face him and sitting cross-legged. "Hmmm...Oh, I know!" She grinned, holding up one finger as she spoke. "Who is older, you or Sans?" Although she was pretty sure she knew the answer, she was curious about just how old the brothers were.

" **AHH...WELL, I MAY BE TALLER THAN SANS, BUT I'M AFRAID HE'S OLDER THAN ME. LET ME THINK..."** Papyrus hummed for a moment,crossing his arms and closing his eyes. " **IF I RECALL, SANS IS...HMMMM...I DON'T REMEMBER, EVEN THOUGH WE DO CELEBRATE OUR BIRTHDAYS, WE DON'T REALLY AGE THE SAME AS OTHER MONSTERS...AND SANS DOESN'T REALLY ACT HIS AGE."**

 **"** Oh?" Mina blinked, genuinely curious about this. "Well...Uhm...Do you remember how old you are?"

 **"OH, OH YES, OF COURSE I REMEMBER!" "I'M ONLY A FEW YEARS YOUNGER THAN UNDYNE, ACTUALLY. .."** Papyrus leaned in a bit, still speaking loudly even though he was trying to whisper. **"SHE'LL BE TURNING THIRTY SOON, AND I RECENTLY TURNED TWENTY FIVE!"**

"Oh..." Mina nodded deciding to make a mental note of both Papyrus and Undyne's ages. "Alright, it's your turn to ask me a question, Papyrus."

" **HMMM...GIVE ME A MOMENT."** Papyrus sighed, closing his eyes once again. " **I DON'T WANT TO ASK ANYTHING TOO PERSONAL, SO...I WILL SIMPLY ASK HOW OLD YOU ARE!"**

Mina couldn't help but giggle a little, deciding that Papyrus was all too sweet and innocent to play this game. "You really could ask anything you want, but alright." She smiled, pausing for a moment and looking to the door as another sound came from downstairs. "I wonder what Sans is doing...Anyway!" With a grin, she turned her attention back to Papyrus. "I uh...Well, put simply I'm younger than you and Sans, but I was sure you guys would be much older...I actually turned twenty a few months ago."

" **WOWIE! YOU'RE PRETTY CLOSE TO OUR AGES, THEN!"** Papyrus cheered, starting to say something else, but being interrupted as someone knocked on the door. **"SANS, IS THAT YOU?"**

"Dinner is here, you guys can come on down." Sans said as he climbed down the ladder, quickly moving out of the way as he heard Papyrus rushing towards the door, hearing an odd squeak beforehand. When the door open, Sans sighed, seeing the cause of the squeak. Once again Papyrus was carrying poor Mina around, but this time she seemed to be enjoying it, even laughing a little from over his shoulder. "How's the view from up there, sweetheart?" Sans chuckled as his brother stopped in front of him, seeing both Pap and Mina grinning at him. "..Uhh...Something up?"

"Apparently." Mina giggled, looking to Pap and laughing as he suddenly grabbed at Sans with his free hand, the taller skeleton easily picking his brother up and tucking him under his left arm. "I guess being short has some advantages, especially when you have friends in high places."

"Pffft..." Sans snickered, Papyrus groaning a bit as he proceeded to carry the two of them to the stairs. "I should probably mention, we've got a few guests for dinner." He said, but not until after Papyrus had stopped at the top of the stairs and gasped in surprise.

" **WOWIE! EVERYONE IS HERE!** " Papyrus cheered,running down the stairs as a few of the guests laughed. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he quickly set his brother and Mina down, blinking as the girl hid behind him. " **IS SOMETHING WRONG?** "

Sitting and standing around the living room were many of the monsters that Mina had met earlier that day,however she wasn't exactly thrilled to see Mettaton sitting on the couch. Looking at the other familiar faces in the room, she noticed Fox sitting on the lap of a short yellow monster next to Mettaton, recognizing her from the snow sculptures Undyne had shown her. As Papyrus talked to some of the others, Mina took a deep breath and walked over to the couch, smiling shyly and holding a hand out. "You're Alphys, right? Thank you so much for your help this morning.."

"o-Oh gosh, it uh...i-It wasn't that big of a deal." Alphys chuckled nervously, shaking Mina's hand and smiling in return. "i-I uh...w-Well, Undyne kind of made me come...n-Not that I didn't want to meet you, I just uh.."

"Psh...You need to get out of the lab more often, Alphys, and you know it." Undyne chuckled, motioning towards Mettaton. "Besides, someone needed to be here to keep him in line." She stated, earning an annoyed huff from the robot.

"Darling, you act as if I need a babysitter, but wasn't it you who caused all the damage this morning?" Mettaton remarked, grinning a bit and taking the opportunity to stretch one of his arms out, grabbing Mina's waist and pulling her to sit between him and Alphys. "I only meant to have a bit of fun this morning, but it seems I need to apologize..." He smirked as he glanced over at the uncomfortable girl next to him, lowering his voice and practically whispering into her ear. "I was wrong...You look absolutely adorable like this..."

" **OH, YOU THINK SO TOO, METTATON?** " Papyrus chimed in, suddenly shoving the two of them to either side and sitting between them, further crowding the couch. When he saw Mina giving him a thankful yet curious look, he simply glanced over at Sans. " **HUMANS LOOK CUTE IN ANYTHING, FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN. BUT I THINK MINA LOOKED CUTER WHEN SHE LEFT THE HOUSE EARLIER TODAY IN MY BROTHER'S HOODIE! SHE'S JUST SO SMALL, AND THE SLEEVES ARE SO LONG ON HER LITTLE ARMS! WOULDN'T YOU AGREE, BROTHER?"**

"What?" Sans blinked, the question snapping him out of whatever thoughts he had a few moments before. "Oh, uh...Yeah, I guess." He chuckled a bit, walking over and handing his brother and Mina their plates, as well as handing one to Alphys. Once his hands were free, he looked to Papyrus and gave him a thumbs up. Though Sans was glad his brother stepped in, he wasn't happy with Mettaton being so close to Mina, knowing she likely didn't want to deal with the robot after how her day had been. While he was tempted to take a seat on the couch with the others, he knew the couch probably wouldn't hold much more in its current state, instead deciding to take a seat against the wall where the tv had previously been after getting his own plate.

"Here you are." Grillby said as he handed a pair of plates to Mettaton and Napstablook, before taking his own plate and sitting against the wall with Sans and Kid. As Undyne got her own plate, the fiery elemental looked around the room and chuckled a bit. "It's been some time since I saw all of you together like this...I believe you were all still children at the time."

"Yeah, I remember that too, Grillz." Sans chuckled, pointing at Papyrus. "I think it was one of his birthdays, pretty sure Bratty and Catty were here too...Some weird show they all liked was having a special episode showing, so we all got pizza to celebrate both events and just sat around the tv."

"Too bad we can't do that again..." Undyne grumbled, pausing and grinning a moment later as she walked over to the couch and looked at Mettaton. "Someone had to go breaking it with their ass."

"I seem to remember someone who couldn't control their temper..So childish and unladylike." Mettaton laughed, blinking and glancing over at his cousin as the much quieter robot sighed. "Blooky, Darling...Is something wrong?"

"Oh...n-No, I was just thinking...We weren't invited again...And I don't want to be a bother to anyone..." Napstablook sighed and closed his eyes, feeling someone move off the couch as he set his plate in his lap. "I don't even know if I'll be able to eat this...I'm still not used to this body, and it's just trouble for Dr. Alphys..."

"That's the second time I've heard you say that..." Mina chimed in quietly, Napstablook jumping back slightly as he opened his eyes to see her leaning down in front of him, smiling shyly at eye-level with him. "I haven't really had a chance to figure out what you mean..."

"o-Oh, Napstablook and Mettaton are...Well..." Alphys trailed off, taking a moment to swallow her food before continuing. "They uh...They're both ghosts, I made their bodies for them..."

"They're ghosts?" Mina's eyes widened a bit as she looked over at Alphys, a bit of color coming to her cheeks as she looked over both the robots. "I wouldn't have ever guessed that...You guys look...Well, you almost look like humans to me." Seeing an annoyed look pass Mettaton's features, she held her hands up defensively. "i-I mean, w-well...y-You guys look like you'd be celebrities, if you were human..."

"Oh really?" Mettaton arched a brow, grinning a little at the last comment. "So, tell me then, Darling...Which of us would be the better looking celebrity? Or more popular?"

Letting out another sigh, Napstablook looked to his cousin. He was about to speak, but before he could even open his mouth, Mina spoke again. "Uhm...w-Well...Since looks do factor in to popularity...At least on the surface. I uh...i-I think Napstablook would probably be considered the more popular choice on both fronts..." Almost immediately, Mina regretted her words, a few of the people in the room trying and failing not to laugh, while Mettaton just stared at her with his mouth agape. "b-But, Uhm...t-That would j-just be...m-My opinion..."

"Your opinion is terrible!" Mettaton snapped, moving to stand up and being held back by Papyrus. "Papy, Darling, would you please let go so I can teach this rude little girl a lesson?"

" **BUT METTATON, THAT'S ONLY HER OPINION! YOU'LL ALWAYS BE THE MOST POPULAR IN MY BOOK!** " Papyrus exclaimed, refusing to let go and winking at Mina as she looked at him.

"Telling the truth isn't rude, stupid bucket of bolts.." Undyne chuckled, earning her the robot's glare as Mina quickly moved to hide in the kitchen. "Besides, you've done nothing but harass her since the two of you met, while your cousin has been nothing but nice and shy." She huffed, plopping down on the couch next to Papyrus, where Mina had previously been. She felt the couch creaking underneath her, remembering just how badly damaged it was. "Uhh...Hey, Sans..."

"Yeah, I know." Sans spoke up, grinning a little as he looked from Undyne to Mettaton. "That couch is on its last leg...Surprised the springs on that end haven't gone yet. I've been meaning to get a new couch anyway." He grinned, looking back to Undyne as Mettaton fussed at his brother, giving her an odd wink.

While the others in the room talked to each other, Undyne, just stared at Sans, a thought coming to her suddenly as she felt something move inside the couch. It didn't take her too long to realize what was going on. '... _Oh my fucking god, is he serious?'_ She thought to herself, grinning and scooting over a bit, pushing Alphys away from the robots as well and receiving a confused look from her. "Ehh...Papyrus and Mettaton are getting a bit too rowdy for me right now, sorry."

"..Mettaton, could you calm down a little please?" Alphys sighed, frowning as Mettaton ignored her, and tilting her head a little as he grabbed his cousin's wrist. Poor Blooky had simply gotten off the couch, but apparently even that was enough to rouse Mettaton's suspicions.

"Uhm...I just wanted to ask her if I could...Listen to some of her music..." Napstablook sighed, glancing towards the kitchen as Mina and Kid came back out. He quickly looked away from Mina, his cheeks still having a bit of color from her answer to his cousin's question earlier. "That is...If it wouldn't be a bother to you..."

"Oh, uhm..i-It's not a bother, I can go get my headphones..." She paused, looking to Papyrus a moment. "Are they in my room, or still in yours?"

" **HMMM...I BELIEVE THEY ARE STILL IN MY ROOM**." Papyrus smiled to Mina, finally letting go of Mettaton and standing up. " **WORRY NOT, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL GO GET THEM! YOU STAY HERE AND GET TO KNOW EVERYONE BETTER!** " Papy exclaimed as he ran up the stairs, a few of the guests chuckling a bit.

"Hmph...How sickening." Mettaton mumbled, crossing his arms and smirking a little as Mina shot him a questioning look. "I know my Papy means well, but I'd appreciate it if you would stop with your little act, Darling." He spat, closing his eyes as he continued. "You think if you play the sweet, innocent little damsel in distress with everyone, you'll get what you want right? Food, a place to sleep...You honestly don't care who it is, as long as you get something right? I wonder, do you even care what you have to do?"

"Knock that off, Mettaton!" Undyne snapped, growling a little at the robot as he laughed a bit. "The only one acting here is you, goddamned diva.."

"Ohh...Metta, you're not being very nice..." Napstablook sighed, turning his attention to Mina. Seeing the shocked and hurt look on her face, he frowned a little, scratching the back of his head and closing his eyes. "Ohh...I'm...Sorry about him..."

"Sorry? Oh, but Blooky, didn't you hear Undyne earlier?" Mettaton grinned, lowering his voice just a bit as he heard Papyrus moving around upstairs. "There is no need to apologize for telling the truth, since it isn't considered rude to do so...And if opinions count then as far as I'm concerned, the truth is that our little 'friend' here is just a petty little whore, trying to sink her claws in to everyone for what she wants."

"Mettaton!" Alphys and Undyne both shouted, the taller of the two feeling a chill run down her spine as she looked over at Sans. Noticing the lights in his eyes had gone out, she quickly grabbed Alphys and moved her away from the couch. If Sans's dark grin was any indication, the couch and the badmouthing robot sitting on it, were about to have a very bad time. "Hey uh...Mina! How about you show us your room? Blooky, you come too." Undyne asked, Alphys blushing and fussing a little about being carried around in her arms.

"...Sure, Undyne." Mina looked over at her and nodded quietly, a bit too shocked to do or say much more. She could hear Mettaton going off again, sighing and doing her best to ignore him as she headed upstairs with the others. Glancing back downstairs for a moment, she was a bit confused to see Grillby and Kid heading into the kitchen, even more so to see Sans standing in front of Mettaton. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the others and lead them to the closet, leading them up into her room along with Papyrus a moment later.

"Tch...Honestly Sans, what are you thinking letting someone like that hang around with your brother..." Mettaton chuckled, opening an eye and freezing as he spotted Sans standing in front of him, his left eye emitting a blue glow as he smiled at the robot. "..s-Sans, you look a bit...Odd."

"Nah...I think I look pissed, actually." Sans chuckled, reaching over and placing his hands on both the couch and Mettaton's shoulder. "So, pal...Let me tell you a story. One day, the Queen of Monsters asked a skeleton to protect a human that fell into the underground, to keep that human safe. Problem was, the skeleton had already made that promise to the human, and promised he wouldn't let anyone hurt her after he found her...So when someone said something that -really- hurt the human, what do you think that skeleton did?"

Mettaton didn't dare speak, nervously grinning back at the skeleton for a moment before glancing to the kitchen. He could see Grillby looking over at the current situation, whimpering a bit as the fiery guest gave him a sympathetic look and waved. Turning his attention back to Sans, he noticed his left hand glowing a bright blue as he let go of the couch, the couch flashing the same blue color for a moment just before the frame cracked and the couch fell apart. Not only did it fall apart, but the springs underneath him snapped, one spring tearing through the cushion and going where no spring should ever go.

With Mettaton letting out a shriek of surprise and slight pain, Sans chuckled a bit more and glanced over at Grillby. "I'm just gonna take the trash out...Head on up and check on the others for me?" He asked, putting his free hand back on the broken couch and vanishing with it, Mettaton vanishing as well.

"...Duuuude. That was scary, but so cool." Kid snickered as he peeked out from behind a sighing Grillby. "I didn't know he could do that...Any idea where they went?"

"Didn't you hear Sans?" Grillby chuckled, walking through the living room as Kid followed, slowly making his way up the stairs as he had been asked. "He's taking out the trash, that's all." He smiled, shaking his head a little and looking towards the closet once upstairs. "Ahh...I see I was correct." Looking up and seeing the door still open, Grillby motioned for Kid to go up ahead of him.

Once Grillby and Kid were in the room, Papyrus waved to them from Mina's bed, a very quiet Mina and the pair of dogs sitting in his lap. " **OH HELLO YOU TWO, WHAT BRINGS YOU UP HERE?** "

"Yo, is she alright?" Kid asked, hopping onto the other bed with Undyne and Alphys, watching as Grillby walked over and placed a hand on Mina's shoulder.

"Oh...She...Hasn't really spoken since we came up here..." Napstablook sighed, sitting between the two beds and having Mina's headphones around his neck. "I didn't think my cousin...I'm sorry about him, he's usually very nice..."

"You don't need to apologize for him, Napstablook." Alphys sighed, crossing her arms. "He was way out of line, even if he was upset...I uh...I'm sure he didn't really mean it, Mina."

" **WHY ARE WE ALL UP HERE ANYWAY?** " Papyrus asked, glancing towards the door. " **I DON'T HEAR ANYTHING DOWN THERE...SHOULD I BE AFRAID?"**

"No need to be alarmed, Sans stepped out for a moment, that is all." Grillby smiled, taking a seat on the floor alongside Napstablook as Mina slowly sat up. "While we wait for him to return...How about I tell you all a story."

"Oh, what story?" Undyne chuckled, making herself comfortable and pulling a now blushing Alphys into her lap.

"I have a few in mind, though I am sure I haven't told any of you the older one." Grillby stated calmly, glancing to the door for a moment. "But I believe I'll wait for the last of us to take a seat."

As everyone else turned to look at the door, a rather tired looking Sans made his way into the room. "Don't wait on my account, Grillz."

"...Sans where is Mettaton?" Alphys asked, arching a brow as Undyne snickered a bit. "Where did you go, for that matter.."

"Ehh, nowhere special. I was just taking the trash out, and well..." Sans paused, grinning a little as he continued and making his way over to his brother and Mina. "...Mettaton was feeling a bit down in the dumps, so I told him to go home if he felt like garbage." Seeing Napstablook frown, he quickly turned his attention to the blue bot. "Don't worry too much, he probably just wanted to clean up his attitude...I don't think he'd want you to leave just because of his rubbish."

" **SANS FOR FUCK'S SAKE, SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!** " Papyrus screeched, having been groaning the entire time. He could hear Mina giggling next to him, hearing Undyne snickering still as others sighed. " **PLEASE, JUST SIT DOWN AND LISTEN, I WANT TO HEAR GRILLBY'S STORY."**

 **"** Alright, alright." Sans yawned a little, taking a seat on the bed next to Mina and his brother and instantly finding a small brown dog in his lap. "Heh...Comfortable, pup?"

"...She must really like you." Mina said softly, smiling a little and reaching over to pet Fox, since Sans was sitting next to her. "Uhm, Sans...Thank you...For whatever you said down there."

As Grillby started his story, Sans nodded to Mina, yawning once again. "No problem...Y'know, I think Fox here has the right idea." He chuckled, motioning to the sleeping pup in his lap. "It's been a long day...And frankly, I'm dog tired myself." He grinned, Mina giggling a little as Papyrus shot him a glare.

"As I was saying..." Grillby chuckled, giving a quick glance to everyone else in the room before continuing. "Long ago, before the barrier sealing us underground was created...Humans and Monsters lived in peace. Even before those days though, we still lived alongside humans. They feared our magic, our appearances, and they feared that all of us were bloodthirsty beasts. At that time, there were a number of monsters who did indeed prey upon humans, but there were far more who would rather just ignore the humans. Before I forget...This was also in a time where humans were unable to wield magic."

"Dude, you mean magicians didn't exist back then?" Undyne interrupted, giving Grillby a quizzical look. Seeing him nod, she quieted back down. "Uhh..Sorry, go on."

"Back then, only Monsters were capable of using magic. As I said though, many a monster of those times enjoyed terrorizing humans. One day, one such monster attacked a small village, and the humans ran for their lives." Grillby sighed, shifting his position a little and stretching his legs out. "One of the humans who fled was a young woman, badly injured from the monster's attack. As she ran, she yelled for help, not caring who answered her call...Just as long as someone answered. And answer someone did, a powerful warrior appeared and drove off the attacking monster before he could kill the young woman. This warrior took pity on the woman, treating her wounds and giving her a safe place to rest while she recovered. The woman never saw her savior until she woke up more than a day after the attack, having fallen unconscious after calling for help. When she awoke, she was startled to find herself in the care of a monster."

"Heh...I uh...I bet she was terrified..." Alphys chuckled nervously, though she looked to be enjoying the story. "i-I mean, I've uh. I've seen things like that happen before."

"Well, it's safe to say she was quite startled when she awoke. You see, Roman was a bit different from most of the monsters living in the area. What he was, was something the humans of that time feared more than other monsters." Grillby sighed, glancing towards Papyrus and a half asleep Sans, giving a dull look to the shorter of the two as he struggled to keep himself from falling over. "Though looking at you two, I can hardly understand why humans would fear skeletons so much."

" **WOWIE!** " Papyrus exclaimed, his eyes becoming bright and widening at the revelation. " **SO THIS GREAT WARRIOR WAS A SKELETON? AMAZING! I WISH I HAD BEEN ABLE TO MEET HIM! OH, WAS THERE A ROYAL GUARD BACK THEN? WAS HE A ROYAL GUARD AS WELL?**!" He asked enthusiastically, bouncing a little on the bed and causing Mina to giggle quietly.

"Sadly, there was no real need for a royal guard in those days. While there were some monsters who tried to keep the rest in line, there was no king back then.." Grillby stated calmly, chuckling a little at the dumb-founded look on Papyrus's face. "Back to the story...The girl was terrified when she awoke, and being the reclusive soul that he was, Roman had no idea how to interact with her. He kept his distance as best he could, even refrained from talking to the girl, but eventually he had no choice but to speak to her. You see, she had tried to sneak out, and was set upon by a predatory monster. In her condition, she shouldn't even have been allowed to walk...Once again, Roman came to her rescue, keeping himself between her and the attacker as he told her to hide."

"Dude, why even bother with her if she wants nothing to do with him?" Kid asked, smirking a little and motioning for Undyne to look at the group sitting on the other bed. Once she looked, he lowered his voice and leaned over to whisper her. "Five gold says he falls flat on his face." He said with a chuckle, looking back over at Sans as he sat asleep on Mina's bed.

While Papyrus was too enamored with Grillby's story to pay any attention to the others, it only took Kid's whispering to alert someone else to the situation. Realizing Sans was starting to lean towards the edge of the bed, and remembering Fox was in his lap as well, Mina quickly grabbed the back of his sweater and tried up pull him back. Just as she did, Fox jumped up at Sans's shoulder, effectively causing him to fall backwards and land with his head resting on Mina's lap. Somehow, Sans managed to stay asleep through the ordeal, even with Undyne's loud laughter and Papyrus's childish squealing over the situation.

"u-Uhm...d-Don't mind this, please continue." Mina whimpered, being stuck between a sleeping Sans and Papayrus, who was now hugging her and telling her how adorable she and Sans looked at the moment. "It's been a long day, and Sans seemed quite tired..."

Papyrus did his best to keep his voice down, grinning widely as he addressed Mina. "THAT LAZYBONES IS ALWAYS SLEEPING, EXCEPT FOR THE LAST TWO DAYS. I'LL TAKE HIM BACK TO HIS ROOM AFTER THE STORY, IF HE DOESN'T WAKE UP BEFORE THEN." He smiled, earning a small sigh from Mina as he reached over and placed a spare blanket over his brother as Grillby continued the story.

"While defending the girl should have been an easy task, Roman had a bit of difficulty. He had been injured days before, when he had run across a few humans out hunting for food near his home." Grillby stated, hearing a slight growl from Undyne. "Despite this, he had no ill will towards humans, knowing the ones who attacked him likely did so out of fear. When his enemy finally fled, Roman ignored his own injuries, carefully picking up the still scared girl and returning to his home to take care of her. The fact that he was injured didn't escape the girl's notice, it was actually that which caused her to change her opinion of the monster caring for her. She watched for several days as Roman ignored his own injuries to tend to her, however she didn't speak to him until she noticed he wasn't eating."

"Wait, if he was feeding her, why wasn't he eating?" Mina asked curiously, blinking as she heard Papyrus yawn and feeling him leaning against her as he listened. "...What about his injuries?"

"Well...Monsters don't need to worry 'too' much about injuries, as long as they're able to eat." Alphys spoke up, smiling a bit as she looked over at Mina's predicament. "They'll heal much faster than a human, but only if they're eating regularly."

"Give me a moment, and I'll tell you." Grillby smiled, seeming to close his eyes for a moment. "When she asked him why, he gave her a smile and a simple answer. 'Because of the attack on your village, you and the others would likely have gone without food for a while. I know how some monsters can be, they'll destroy crops, livestock, everything they can to make humans suffer. It's the fault of rogues like that, that humans like you end up in such circumstances. If they take away food to make you suffer, then it's only fair that I make sure you have food when I don't.' Roman told her, and her reaction hadn't been what he expected at all. He looked on in confusion as the girl began to laugh, even though tears were plainly filling her eyes." Grillby opened his eyes a bit, looking at the others in the room. "This was also why Roman didn't live with other monsters, some seeing his kindness as a weakness, despite how powerful he was."

"Yo...This guy sounds a lot like Papy, just uh..." Kid chuckled, getting a curious look from a drowsy looking Papyrus. "...Well, it just reminds me of him, I dunno."

"Heh, maybe Papyrus will be like that guy if he ever grows up..." Undyne smirked, turning her attention back to Grillby as he chuckled.

"I'd have to agree, Papyrus does remind me of the skeleton in this story...Continuing on..." Grillby smiled, closing his eyes once again as he spoke. "Roman didn't know how to respond to the girl, so he simply looked away and listened as she laughed. After a moment, she apologized, explaining to him that she had never thought anyone, let alone a monster, would act so selflessly. She told him that even the other people in her village would have just left her for dead, since she was from a very poor family and since they all put their own well-being before that of others. In the following days, the two chatted and learned more about eachother, as well as about their different races. Eventually though, the girl was well enough to return to her village, and Roman was left alone once more."

"...There's more, isn't there?" Mina inquired, quieting back down as Grillby nodded to her.

"Indeed. A few years later, after several spats over territory and how to treat the humans living near them, the monsters began to build up their kingdom. They sent ambassadors to visit the human kings of those times, as well as to some of the smaller human settlements." Grillby stated, tilting his head back and keeping his eyes closed. "One of the ones sent to the kingdoms was Roman, and to his surprise, one of the humans who greeted his company was the same young woman he had saved years earlier. When she saw Roman among the visiting monsters, she made it a point to tell him her name, Claire. She had become a maidservant to one of the royal families, and had offered to tend to the monsters while they stayed with her master. The two would sit and chat whenever they had time, and Roman would visit the kingdom every few months, as was his job. Eventually, their friendship turned into something more, though at the time most humans were still wary of monsterkind. This being the case, they kept their relationship a secret...There were problems with this, though." Grillby paused, crossing his arms and opening his eyes. "You see, Claire had a child, something that she couldn't very well hide from those around her...So she lied, and told them that the child belonged to a human man she had met during a festival. Of course, Roman knew the truth, but he wouldn't fault her for the lie. The child, a little human boy, knew as well when he was older, and he knew other secrets."

" **OH, SO THE STORK BROUGHT THEM A LITTLE HUMAN CHILD INSTEAD OF A MONSTER CHILD?** " Papyrus asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes a little and leaning against Mina once again. While he was excited to hear the story, he was quite tired.

"...Yes, yes indeed, Papyrus." Grillby chuckled, shaking his head a little. "When the child was older, Roman trained him to fight, but he made sure that his son understood one thing - That there were some things he must never do in battle. While the boy understood this, and the reasoning behind it, he found himself unable to comply with his father's wishes. Years later a neighboring kingdom invaded the one Claire and her son lived in, and while Roman fought to protect them both, he was unable to protect Claire. In a fit of blind rage, Roman unleashed his magic upon his enemies, and was struck from behind by one of their generals. Distraught by the loss of his mother, and not wanting to lose his father as well, their son charged into battle, revealing something that turned the tide of the battle for the entire kingdom. The boy, now nearing the age of fifteen, could do something no other human could. He could wild magic, just like a monster."

"...He was the first Magician?" Mina asked, though she sounded a little shocked. "I...I remember my grandfather telling me the story of the first magician, but he never mentioned his father being a monster...Was his name Owen?"

"Yes, his name was indeed Owen, and he was the first of the Magicians." Grillby nodded, glancing over at Mina and the skelebrothers. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the look on her face, as well as the sight before him. "I'm sorry, is there something wrong?"

"...No, nothing at all." Mina sighed in defeat, hearing the others snicker a little from the other bed. Not only did she have Sans using her lap as a pillow, but now she had a smiling, sleeping Papyrus on her shoulder. "I uhm...I'm fine with letting them sleep for a bit, but if I'm going to be stuck here..." She sighed once again, looking to Napstablook for a moment as he and the others stood up. "I'll let you borrow my mp3 player sometime, but I think I'll need it if I can't sleep tonight. I have a lot on my mind, so...I doubt I'll be sleeping anytime soon."

"Ohhhh...Right, here." Blooky smiled shyly, taking the headphones from around his neck and handing them to her as Grillby pulled a blanket over Papyrus. "It sounds so different, it's...Really interesting."

"Thank you.." Mina smiled, setting her mp3 player behind Sans and managing to put her headphones around her neck without disturbing Papyrus. "...Are you guys all heading out?"

"Yeah, it's pretty late actually. Kid's got a curfew." Undyne grinned, Kid groaning in protest as she continued. "And I've gotta walk Alphys and Blooky back to the lab before either of them can rest for the night."

"Oh, alright." Mina nodded, turning her attention to Grillby as he took a seat against the wall again. "What about you, Mr. Grillby?"

"Just Grillby is fine." The elemental smiled, bowing his head a little. "I think I'll stay here for a while...It's nice having a bit of a break from the bar." Looking toward the others, he gave a slight wave. "You all have a good night, I'll be sure to lock up when I leave."

"Later, Mina." Kid yawned, waving a bit with his tail as Undyne ushered him out. Alphys gave a sheepish wave as well, Napstablook following her out of the room after giving another shy, brief smile to Mina. Soon the sound of the front door closing could be heard, that being the only sound heard for a while as the two people left awake sat alone with their thought.

Aside from Papyrus and Sans' quiet breathing, and the faint sounds coming from Mina's headphones, the house had gone quiet. Grillby has simply rested his hands in his lap and remained quiet, while Mina was busy trying to make sense of everything the elemental had said in his story. The fact that she knew this story, or at least the human version of it, made her question everything that had been said that night. Letting out a quiet sigh, she peered over at the silent elemental jumping slightly as he suddenly began to speak.

"You seem to have been taught quite a bit about monsters, and about magicians. I heard a bit of what you were discussing with Sans when you visited earlier today, and I must say I'm a bit curious..." Grillby paused, giving her a reassuring smile. "I gather there aren't many magicians these days, but I do wonder...Is it common for modern day humans like yourself to be taught such ancient history?"

"Well...Probably not, but my grandfather is a bit odd. Eccentric, by most standards." Mina huffed, looking away and frowning a bit. "I always believed in monsters and magic as a girl, but I suppose my views were a bit different than his. I swear, he views magic as some great and almighty power, a weapon that he wishes still existed in our time...As for his views on monsters..." She sighed, closing her eyes and smiling sadly, keeping quiet for a few moments. "...Well, I'm sure if he were to ever meet all of you, he'd change his opinion."

"I see..." Grillby nodded to himself, seeming satisfied with the answer Mina had given. Slowly standing up, he glanced to the small brown dog curled up with Sans, the dog's head just barely poking out from under the blanket Papyrus had covered his brother with. Remembering Sans had mentioned the dog before, he looked back to Mina and smiled. "...People like you are certainly rare. Very few would be so kind and so trusting, especially after what happened to you...Thank you, for giving us a chance before judging us."

"..Can I ask you something, Grillby?" Mina spoke softly, the smile still playing on her lips. "...Is it alright if I come talk to you, if I find myself unable to talk to the others about something? I...I have so many questions about this place, about the history of the monster race, and about...Well..."

"You can come talk to me whenever you want, Mina. I'd be glad to tell you about us." Grillby chuckled, stretching a little and giving one last glance to the dog sleeping with Sans. "Feel free to bring your little friend to my bar sometime...I have plenty of customers of the canine variety, she'd be welcome there as well."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mina tilted her head a little, rubbing her eyes for a moment as Grillby made his way out of the room. "Have a good night, Grillby." Seeing him turn to nod at her before heading down the ladder, Mina sighed and placed her headphones over her ears, turning up the volume a little and skipping to a new song. She felt as if her mind was being flooded with questions, and in truth it was. ' _So monsters are the reason humans gained the ability to use magic...Figures that would be left out of the human legends.'_

As the hours passed, Mina finally found herself drifting off to sleep, having managed to pull some pillows behind her so she wasn't sleeping right up against the hard wall. She left her music playing quietly, managing to calm her mind and stop the myriad of questions she still had from buzzing around in her head. Most of the questions she had left were for her family on the surface, but there were a few she planned on finding the answers to in the morning.

The next morning, Mina found herself yawning and stretching, being a bit confused when she nearly fell over. It seemed she hadn't been the first one up, quickly noticing Papyrus was no longer asleep beside her. She realized neither of the dogs were in the room either, the only person still there with her being a still sleeping Sans. Taking her headphones off and turning her mp3 player off, she sighed and stretched again. "...Sans, wake up." She yawned quietly, chuckling a little afterwards and gently tapping him on the shoulder. "Please, I kinda need to move...Wake up."

Not realizing where he was quite yet, Sans let out a groan and pulled the blanket over his head, muttering quietly. "Five more minutes, Pap." He said, turning on his side and opening an eye as he heard a slight whine. For a moment he thought it was one of the dogs, then he slowly started to realize his pillow felt weird. Remembering the events of the night before, he suddenly found himself wide awake, slowly pulling the blanket away from his eyes and blushing slightly as he glanced up at Mina. "...Oh. Uh...Morning."

"Morning." Mina smiled nervously, scratching the back of her neck for a moment. "Hey, uhm...c-Could you please move? I _really_ need to move, a-and well..." She chuckled, shaking her head a bit as he quickly turned back over and sat up. "Thank you." She said quickly, hopping to her feet and bolting out of the room.

"Well. That was unexpected." Sans chuckled to himself, his face still a bright blue color as Papyrus climbed up into the room and yelled to him.

"SANS, IT'S TIME TO...OH, YOU'RE ALREADY AWAKE."

"Hey, uh...Papyrus, why didn't you wake me up lastnight?" Sans grumbled slightly, covering part of his face with one hand and giving his brother a bit of a glare. "Hell, why didn't anyone else wake me up."

" **OH, WELL...MINA SAID IT WAS FINE, SHE SAID YOU WERE TIRED...** " Papyrus smiled, laughing quietly at his brother and continuing. " **I WAS PLANNING ON MOVING YOU, BUT I...SEEM TO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP AS WELL. WHEN I WOKE UP, I DISCOVERED I HAD BEEN USING OUR FRIEND'S SHOULDER AS A PILLOW. I DO HOPE I DIDN'T OFFEND OUR GUESTS BY FALLING ASLEEP...OR MINA, FOR WELL, FALLING ASLEEP. ANYWAY, BREAKFAST IS READY, GET DOWNSTAIRS BEFORE THAT WRETCHED DOG EATS YOUR SHARE.** "

"..You left the dogs downstairs with the food?" Sans grinned, seeing Papy's eyes widen slowly before he took off for downstairs. Laughing a bit, Sans followed after him, making a quick stop in his room to get changed into his regular attire. Hearing that he hadn't been the only one to end up sleeping in Mina's room calmed him down a bit, though hearing she had been the one to suggest letting him rest helped even more. ' _At least she wasn't upset over it.'_

Once everyone was downstairs, Papyrus served up breakfast, the three of them sitting where the couch previously was. For whatever reason, Mina wasn't the least bit surprised to find out Papyrus had fixed spaghetti for breakfast, likely because he had mentioned it both the day before and the night they had met. While they sat around eating their 'breakfast', Mina took the time to watch as both brothers ate, one of her questions from the day before coming to mind. "...You guys mind if I ask something?"

"What's up?" Sans asked, setting his fork down for a moment and looking over at her. He was seated in the middle of the living room, while Mina and Papyrus were seated against the wall where the couch had been, and he had noticed her giving him and Papy odd looks.

"...Well, it has a bit to do with Grillby's story, and it's something I've been curious about since meeting the two of you..." Mina paused, setting her plate in her lap and looking between the two of them. "You uh...I know you guys are able to eat, but...You're skeletons. How does that work, exactly? Can you guys even taste anything?"

"Heheh...Magic, sweetheart." Sans grinned, taking another bite of spaghetti before continuing. "For skeletons, when we eat something it pretty much becomes pure magic energy...As skeletons, our magic isn't just limited to being useful in a fight...It's got other handy uses, so yeah, of course we can taste things."

"...But how?" Mina inquired, blinking as Sans started snickering a bit. "...i-I mean, how can magic let you taste something...Sorry, this is all still new to me, remember?"

"Paps, why don't you show her first?" Sans grinned, his brother blinking and staring at him for a moment. "Go on, do it."

"...Do what?"

" **OH...WELL, I GUESS I CAN...** " Papyrus said, giving Mina a shy look as he turned to face her. Seeing the inquisitive look she was giving him caused him to become a bit shy about what he was about to do, a light orange blush coming to his face as he leaned over and slowly opened his mouth.

"What are you..." Mina trailed off, her eyes going wide as she spotted a glowing orange tongue sticking out of Papyrus's mouth. Quickly looking over at Sans, she witnessed him doing the same, his tongue being a bright blue color instead. "...Wow. Okay I think I understand now." She said, another thought coming to her and causing her face to turn a bright red. ' _Oh my god, wait. Is that how..No, nonono, I don't need to think about this!'_ She groaned for a moment, turning her attention and her gaze to her plate as she began eating once again.

"You alright over there?" Sans chuckled, not missing the look on her face. Since he hadn't heard the majority of Grillby's story, he figured she was simply flustered over learning about this use of his and Papyrus's magic. "You got quiet real quick...Wait, let me guess..."

"... **SANS DON'T."**

"Skeleton got your tongue?" Sans grinned, laughing a bit when Mina dropped her fork, Papyrus yelling at him as usual.

After a few minutes, things had calmed down. Mina had made it a point to head up to her room after breakfast, telling brothers she wanted to get the clothes Undyne had brought her put away and then take a nap. It was understandable, Sans knew, since she had also mentioned not getting much sleep the night before. He was still tired himself, deciding to follow Mina's lead and take a nap while Papyrus went out to train with Undyne. Knowing Mina probably wouldn't want to go out for the day, he left a note on her bedroom door, retiring to his room and soon falling asleep.

A while later in her new room, Mina flopped onto her bed, holding her little brown dog in the air over her head. "Well, Fox...It looks like we'll have a nice quiet day for the first time in a while..." She sighed, sitting back up and looking to her backpack for a moment. "I've actually got a place for the books I brought...I'll skim over them later I guess. Maybe I can ask Sans to take me over to that library near Grillby's..." She paused, looking back to Fox for a moment. "You think they'll have something similar?"

All Fox did was give a cute, playful growl as a response, the little dog yawning a bit as her owner placed her on her bed and laid down beside her. Once Fox curled up with her, it didn't take long at all for Mina to fall asleep. Fox however, did not seem to want to sleep, simply turning her head to look towards the window across the room. Seeing a few newly fallen snowflakes blow by, she let out a slight growl. Being the protective little bundle of fur she was, she jumped off the bed and walked over to the window, sitting on the box that had previously held her owner's new clothes as she kept watch. Though her owner was safe in her new home, Fox knew better than to let her guard down. A storm was heading towards the town, and the little dog had a bad feeling as she watched the people walking through the town. This oncoming storm brought a familiar smell with it on the wind, and she didn't like it one bit.


	6. Chapter 5 - Season of Giving

***I am so sorry for the slow update! I've been going through a bit of a rough patch, and it's distracted me a little from my writing. Hopefully things will start getting better again, and I'll be able to update more often. Also, for those who were interested in the other fic I'll be working on, the one focusing more on Roman's story...First chapter will be out sometime soon! Anyways, enjoy!***

**Undertale and its characters belong to Toby Fox. Mina and Fox belong to me~**

"Jeez...He's really into his training today, isn't he?" Kid sighed as he jogged alongside Undyne, the two of them watching Papyrus as he jogged quite a ways ahead of them. "I mean, I know he's excited after hearing Grillby's story and all that, but isn't he going a bit overboard?"

"Nah...He's not going overboard, trust me." Undyne chuckled, shaking her head a bit and brushing a few stray locks of hair our away from her eye. "Besides, even if Paps did go overboard with his training, it really wouldn't change much. No matter how much he trains or how strong he gets, he's too nice to use any of that strength." She sighed, slowing down just enough to jog beside Kid. "To top it all off, focusing on his training like this will keep his mind off of 'Santa'. You know he's been down around the holidays ever since 'Santa' stopped visiting, so it's better seeing him like this, isn't it?"

"Yo, when are you guys just gonna tell him it was the king in a costume?" Kid grumbled, looking up ahead and realizing Papyrus was no longer in sight. "Even I knew it was the king when I was younger..."

"Ehh...That's Sans's call, not mine." Undyne huffed, looking around a moment for Papyrus. "Anyway, I think he'll be better this year. He's probably going to drive us crazy over what kind of gift to get for Mina...I mean, it's only a few days until Christmas, so...I guess we all should figure something out."

While Undyne and Kid continued their jog through the snow, Papyrus had taken a slight detour. He hadn't been in the area in a few days, so he had hoped to go find a friend of his. Usually he would be sneaking away to find gifts for his brother and their friends at this time of year, but since Santa had stopped visiting the holiday had become slightly depressing for him. Papyrus had always looked forward to his yearly visit from Santa, and had always told his friend all about the visits. Once Santa stopped visiting, the two began talking about the reasons why he stopped, or at least the possibilities, though this year Papyrus would have something else to tell his friend about.

Shuffling through the dense snowy forest, Papyrus finally reached his destination, a small clearing in the middle of the forest. He had come here many times as a child, often hiding here when he had been bullied, or to train when he had grown older. It was the same little clearing where he had met his friend, his first other than his brother. Knowing that his friend wouldn't simply answer if he called for him, Papyrus smiled and sat down on a snow covered log and began to twiddle his thumbs as he waited. " **I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOU ABOUT THIS TIME...SANS SAID SANTA IS STILL ON VACATION, BUT...MAYBE YOU COULD HELP ME THINK OF SOMETHING TO GET FOR OUR NEW HOUSEGUEST, I SIMPLY CANNOT LET HER GO WITHOUT A PRESENT JUST BECAUSE SANTA ISN'T AROUND!"**

After a while Papyrus let out a sigh, looking around the still quiet clearing, finally seeing a familiar shape pop out of the snow nearby. "Well gosh, Howdy Papyrus! It's been a while, hasn't it?" The little yellow flower greeted him with a friendly grin, just as he always did, only as Papyrus looked at him he noticed a tired look in his little eyes. "Gosh, I hope you weren't waiting here very long."

" **HELLO, FLOWEY! YOU UH...YOU LOOK PRETTY TIRED, ARE YOU FEELING ALRIGHT?"** Papyrus asked, hopping off of the log and moving to sit in the snow in front of his little flower friend. " **I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN YOU LOOKING TIRED BEFORE..."**

"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing Papyrus." Flowey reassured him, letting out a sigh after a few moments. "I've just been having some trouble with a strange creature recently, it keeps trying to catch me and tried to rip me out of the ground while I was sleeping lastnight." He whined, showing one of his leaves to Papyrus, the leaf having a few holes and frayed edges to it.

" **WOWIE! THAT'S NOT A NICE THING TO DO..."** Papyrus frowned, reaching down and carefully checking over the leaf. **"HMM...THESE LOOK FAMILIAR...OH HEY, MAYBE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE CREATURE THAT ATTACKED MY NEW FRIEND! FLOWEY, WHAT WAS IT THAT ATTACKED YOU?"**

"Golly, I didn't really get a good look at it...But it must have been pretty big, and it's only ever out when it's dark." Flowey sighed, giving a curious look to the skeleton. "So you made a new friend, didn't you? Golly, I hope they're alright. If it's the same thing that attacked me, they probably got hurt too..."

" **WORRY NOT, DEAR FLOWEY! I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT MY NEW FRIEND IS QUITE ALRIGHT. SHE...MAY BE A BIT SCARED, BUT MY BROTHER AND I PROMISED TO KEEP HER SAFE."** Papyrus held his free hand against his armor proudly, grinning a little as he pictured the image of himself as a valiant warrior defending his friends, much like the skeleton from Grillby's story. Thinking of the story, he recalled a few details from Mina's story of her arrival in the underground, blinking and looking back down at Flowey. **"ACTUALLY, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT...SHE SAID IT WAS SOME KIND OF FLOWER THAT ATTACKED HER. FLOWEY, DO YOU KNOW ANY OTHER MONSTERS LIKE YOURSELF? I KNOW IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN YOU, YOU'RE TOO NICE, AND YOU'VE TOLD ME BEFORE THAT YOU CAN'T FIGHT ALL THAT WELL."**

"Oh gee, I don't know any others like me, Papyrus." Flowey smiled a little, a devious look coming to his face for a split second and quickly being replaced by the usual smile he wore when talking to the skeleton. "There might be, but I guess this place is pretty big. Maybe I've just never met them before. Can I ask...What's your new friend like, Papyrus? I know it's a girl, you keep saying 'she', so..."

" **OF COURSE YOU CAN ASK, FLOWEY!"** Papyrus chirped, smiling happily as he told the flower about his new friend. **"HER NAME IS MINA, AND YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE IT, BUT SHE'S A HUMAN! SHE'S NOT AS YOUNG AS FRISK, BUT SHE IS QUITE ADORABLE...I GUESS IT'S JUST A HUMAN THING, THE ONES I'VE MET HAVE BEEN SO CUTE AND KIND. WHY, SHE EVEN FIXED BREAKFAST FOR MY BROTHER AND I YESTERDAY, I HAVEN'T HAD ANY HOUSE GUESTS DO THAT FOR ME EVER!"**

"Golly, she sounds interesting." Flowey grinned, turning his head up and changing the grin to an innocent look as he glanced up at Papyrus. "Sounds to me like you really like her, don't you Papyrus?"

" **WELL OF COURSE I DO, SHE IS A WONDERFUL PERSON FROM WHAT I KNOW OF HER SO FAR, FLOWEY.** " Papyrus nodded enthusiastically, his smile widening a little. " **I WAS TRYING TO THINK OF WHAT TO GET HER FOR CHRISTMAS, BUT I HAVEN'T HAD MUCH LUCK...I'VE TRIED THINKING OF WHAT SORT OF THING A GIRL LIKE HER WOULD LIKE, BUT...** "

"You don't really know too many girls, do you Papyrus?" Flowey chuckled, shrugging his leaves at the skeleton. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'd be much help with that...Or maybe...Saaaay..." He mused, motioning to the rest of the clearing. "Why not bring her out here for a gift? I mean...You two could have a picnic or something, couldn't you? I bet she'd like that."

" **THAT...DOES SOUND LIKE A GOOD IDEA, BUT I'M AFRAID I CAN'T DO THAT, FLOWEY.** " Papyrus chuckled a bit, crossing his arms. **"I WENT ON A PICNIC WITH METTATON BEFORE, FOR UH...WELL, FOR A DATE. I DON'T THINK HE OR SANS WOULD LIKE ME TAKING MINA ON A PICNIC ALONE LIKE THAT.** "

"Oh really?" Flowey grumbled slightly, deciding to root around for more information. "I guess I understand...Mettaton would be jealous if you started paying more attention to a pretty girl instead of him, huh? Why wouldn't Sans like you going on a picnic, though?"

" **WELL...I'M NOT SURE REALLY, I JUST HAVE AN ODD FEELING.** " Papyrus huffed, closing his eyes for a moment as he thought. " **SANS HAS BEEN ACTING A BIT ODD SINCE HE BROUGHT MINA HOME, AND NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, HE WAS ACTING ODD BEFORE HE MET HER TOO. HE CHECKED SOMETHING ON HIS PHONE, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME I SAW HIM LOOKING GENUINELY HAPPY...** "

"Huh...That's interesting...That smiley trashbag is -actually- happy over something? What is it..." Flowey muttered under his breath, his fake smile returning as he spoke up. "How is he acting odd? I'm sorry, I guess I'm just really curious. We haven't really gotten to talk about anything new in a long time, have we?"

" **IT'S QUITE ALRIGHT, FLOWEY. YOU'RE RIGHT, WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT ANYTHING NEW IN A VERY LONG WHILE.** " Papyrus opened his eyes, smiling kindly at the little yellow flower. " **AS FOR MY BROTHER...WELL, I'VE TOLD YOU BEFORE HOW LAZY HE WAS. I KNOW HE CHANGED A BIT AFTER FRISK LEFT, BUT HE STILL TAKES HIS DAILY NAPS. YESTERDAY THOUGH, HE DIDN'T NAP AT ALL, HE WAS SO INSISTENT ON SETTING UP A PLACE FOR MINA TO LIVE WHILE SHE STAYS WITH US. HONESTLY, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WE HAD A ROOM ABOVE THE CLOSET, AND ALL THE STUFF UP THERE...IT FELT STRANGE SEEING ALL OF IT, BUT IT WAS ALL ODDLY FAMILIAR TO ME...** "

"Ehh...It's probably just some old junk your brother put up there..." Flowey chuckled, waving his leaves a little. "Anyway, you should probably get back to your training, I saw Undyne and that monster kid running around before I got here, they're probably looking for you. Plus, I can't work on your present if you're here...I haven't ever given you one, so I'm trying to make this one special!"

" **WOWIE! FLOWEY, HOW THOUGHTFUL OF YOU! YOU REALLY DON'T NEED TO GIVE ME ANYTHING, THOUGH, I KNOW YOU'RE NOT FEELING WELL..."** Papyrus said, a caring tone to his voice. " **YOU SHOULDN'T PUSH YOURSELF JUST BECAUSE OF ME**."

"Oh, but I just _**have**_ to give you something this year, Papyrus." Flowey grinned trying to keep up his false smile as he muttered something to himself. Chuckling a little, the twisted little flower continued his act, waving his leaves in a cute manner. "But I can't do anything if you're here...Now that I think about it, I'll make something for your _**new friend**_ too! You really should bring her by sometime, even if it's not for a picnic."

" **I'LL THINK ABOUT IT, I'M SURE SHE WOULD LIKE THIS PLACE.** " Papyrus nodded as he stood, brushing some snow off of himself before turning and waving at Flowey as he left the clearing. " **HAVE A GOOD DAY, FLOWEY! TRY TO STAY AWAY FROM THAT THING THAT ATTACKED YOU AND MINA, HIDE IF IT COMES AFTER YOU AGAIN! I'LL SEE ABOUT FINDING A WAY TO CAPTURE IT LATER..."**

"Oh I don't think you'll have any luck capturing it...At least not the one you really want to capture." Flowey chuckled to himself once Papyrus was out of earshot, glancing at his frayed leaf for a moment. "Heh...Must be my lucky day, he actually thought I got attacked by the same 'thing' as the human. Still, the fact that stupid human wasn't hurt as bad as I had intended...Oh well, I'll have plenty more chances to weaken her enough, especially if that idiot brings her here."

It didn't take Papyrus very long to find Undyne and Kid, the pair having stopped for a break a little ways away from where they last saw him. " **YOU TWO ARE RESTING ALREADY?** " He shouted to them, becoming a bit nervous as he drew closer. Undyne was giving him a familiar look, the kind she usually gave when she was annoyed. Since Flowey had always asked him not to tell anyone about their little meeting place, Papyrus quickly thought up an excuse. " **I UH...WAS LOOKING AROUND TO SEE IF I COULD FIND SOMETHING I COULD USE TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS PRESENT, FOR MINA...THERE ARE USUALLY SO MANY ICE FLOWERS AND PINECONES AROUND, I THOUGHT MAYBE SHE'D LIKE SOMETHING MADE FROM THEM.** "

"Is that so?" Undyne grumbled, sighing a little and shaking her head. "I kinda figured that's why you ran off. Why not just buy her something from the shop? Like...Well...Okay, I don't have any ideas." She huffed, tossing her hands up for a moment. "Haven't really asked her about stuff like that, but hey, she's living with you guys now. You'll have plenty of time to ask her what kind of shit she likes."

Grinning a bit, Kid walked over to Papyrus, leaning in and lowering his voice. "Dude, I wouldn't ask Undyne about a gift for a girl like Mina anyways, they're about as opposite as can be."

"I can still hear you..." Undyne grinned, her eye twitching slightly. "You've had enough of a break, get your ass back to training!" She snapped, picking up a handful of snow and chucking it at the back of Kid's head. While she hadn't thrown it as hard as she could, she had still thrown it enough to knock him over, the younger monster flailing a bit as he pushed himself up and started running again.

" **WELL...I SUPPOSE I CAN ASK HER ONCE WE'RE DONE TRAINING TODAY.** " Papyrus nodded, deciding to run along with Kid. Remembering that Flowey had also been attacked, he didn't want to be too far from his younger training buddy, just in case something happened. He knew Undyne could handle herself, and that she would probably rest until he and Kid had finished another lap around the snowy forest. " **KEEP AT IT, WE'RE ALMOST HALFWAY DONE FOR THE DAY!** "

Back in Snowdin, things were still quiet and peaceful, aside from the sound of barking dogs filling the street. Fox and Toby were both running around, having been let outside by Mina as she did a few chores around the house. Given the state of both brothers' rooms, Mina had quickly figured out who it was that kept the house clean, deciding to take over the cleaning duties for the day while Papyrus was out. Since Sans was still napping, she had started on the downstairs first, deciding to do her laundry as well. With her old muddy clothes now in the washer, she set to work looking for whatever cleaning supplies Papyrus normally used.

Outside, Fox finally managed to give Toby and the other dogs of the town the slip, quietly poking around and inspecting the area surrounding the skeleton brothers house. So far, nothing had really caught her attention around the town, she had already had a good look to the west of the town the day before as well. East of the house though, was an area she hadn't explored quite yet. A slowly running river with large blocks of ice being carried on it, a few trees along the banks, still nothing that stood out. Just a bit further though, the path alongside the river lead into a dark cavern.

As Fox wandered closer, she could hear footsteps coming from within the cavern, soon catching sight of someone walking towards her and growling cautiously. After a moment though, her growling stopped, her tail wagging a little as she saw who it was. Letting out a cheerful little bark, she darted towards the familiar figure, jumping up and landing in a shocked pair of arms. "Ohhh...What are you doing all the way out here?" The figure smiled shyly as Fox settled in his arms, sighing a little bit as he continued walking towards Snowdin. "It's probably...Not too safe for you to be out here alone, so I'll take you back."

Meanwhile, back at the house, Mina was already hard at work cleaning the house. There wasn't too much to be done, it seemed as though Papyrus had cleaned up the house sometime yesterday before dinner. Still, Mina found something to keep her busy while she waited on the washer. The dishes from last night were still in the sink, and though she needed to use a stepladder to reach them, she had no problem with cleaning them. She hadn't seen any pizza boxes laying out, which meant either the leftovers were in the fridge, or someone had taken them with them when they left. Knowing there was a microwave, she decided to check the fridge after the dishes were scrubbed, grinning happily as she spotted two boxes of leftover pizza.

Hearing the front door open and hearing Fox barking, Mina nodded herself and placed a few extra slices onto a plate, along with slices for herself and Sans. "Welcome back Papyrus, are you hungry?" She asked, waiting for the pizza to reheat. "Could you go wake your brother up?" She asked, tilting her head a little when there was no reply. Curious, she walked to the doorway and looked out into the living room, blinking and smiling a bit as she spotted Fox being held in a certain robot's arms near the front door. "Oh, Blooky, what brings you here?"

"Ohh...I uh...I was going to apologize to Sans for what my cousin did last night..." Napstablook sighed, setting Fox down and glancing towards the stairs. "He's still sleeping? I...I can come back later..."

"You're welcome to stay for lunch, Blooky, I can just go wake him up." Mina smiled, hearing the microwave go off and hurrying back into the kitchen. Bringing a few plates back out into the living room with her, she handed one to Blooky, setting the other on a small table next to the space where the couch had been. "I'll be back down in a minute..." She chuckled, Fox running up the stairs behind her as she made her way to Sans' door. Knocking a few times, she waited and listened. "Sans, are you awake? Come on down, lunch is ready." Hearing a yawn on the other side of the door, she chuckled a little and headed back downstairs.

Letting out another yawn, Sans slowly rolled over and sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes a bit and glancing at a small clock next to his mattress. "...Huh...That late already..." He stretched, mumbling a little to himself and tilting his head a bit. "...I smell pizza...Did I even eat any lastnight?" Though he had eaten breakfast, he was still pretty hungry. Shrugging to himself, he slowly crawled to his feet, leaving his hoodie on his bed for now and heading to the door. Hearing Mina talking and giggling a bit downstairs, he smiled and opened the door, heading out into the hall and down the stairs. "Hey Paps, how'd training...Huh." He paused about halfway down the stairs, blinking as he realized it wasn't his brother Mina was talking to. "Well uh...Hey there, Napsta."

"Ohhh...Hey, Sans." Blooky chuckled nervously,scratching the side of his head with is free hand, a slice of pizza in the other hand. "I was going to just come back later, but...Mina said to stay for lunch..."

"Oh...Er...That's fine, I guess. What brings you all the way over here though?" Sans inquired, descending the stairs and blinking as Mina held a plate of pizza out towards him. "Hey, thanks." He smiled, taking a seat on the floor next to the others. While he wasn't too surprised to see Napsta there, he wasn't sure how he felt about Mina being the one to invite him to stay for lunch, or about how she had been giggling before. As he ate and listened to the robot, he started to wonder just how long he had been there talking to Mina, an odd feeling hanging over him.

"My cousin...Would have come to apologize himself, but uhm..." Napstablook paused, giving a nervous smile to Sans. "Ohhh...He seems to be under the impression that...You'd do something. Doctor Alphys was working on him all morning. Actually, my cousin didn't even want me to come here, but Doctor Alphys asked me to come talk to you about something else for her."

"Oh really? What uh...What did Alphys want you to talk to me about?" Sans asked, chuckling a little as Mina gave him a curious look. "And uh...How's your cousin feeling?"

"...Like trash." Napstablook chuckled a bit, shaking his head a bit. "He said to tell you that, and uh...Thanks for not actually turning him into scrap. Anyways, Doctor Alphys actually wanted me to let you know, she's working on a replacement for your television, since it was kinda my cousin's fault yours broke..."

"Ahh, don't worry about it...It was a real piece of junk anyways." Sans chuckled, glancing over at Mina. She was still giving him a curious look, and just as she started to speak, he held up his hand. "Before you ask, he knows the rules in this house. There are some lines you just don't step over, so when he said what he did, he got what was coming to him. Hell, I'm gonna be honest about it, the couch did all the work."

"...Really?" Mina asked skeptically, sighing a bit as Sans grinned and looked away. "He didn't get hurt, did he? I...I know he said some pretty terrible things, but I'm not mad about it...I'd hate for someone to get hurt just because they upset me."

"Ohhh...Well, he's not hurt." Napstablook said, giving Sans a nervous look. "Even if he was, Doctor Alphys can fix anything...He used the couch as an excuse to get some new upgrades...Anyway, I'm sure if you ever really got to know him, you'd see how nice he is, Mina."

"Uhh...Well, I...I'm not so sure about him being nice to me, but I'm sure he's nice to people he likes..." Mina sighed, yawning slightly and tucking her hands into her sleeves. "...Aren't either of you cold?"

"Ehh, not really...I guess it has been colder than usual this year though." Sans shrugged, glancing around the mostly empty room. "...I guess we'll be getting at least one christmas present this year. Maybe I should get some stuff set up?"

"Oh, I forgot..." Mina blinked, smiling a little. "It's only two days away, isn't it?" She asked, crossing her arms and gently nibbling on the inside of her lip. "If I had known I'd be with all of you for the holidays, I would have gotten a few things...I don't even know what you all like, though."

"Well, we can say the same for you, sweetheart." Sans chuckled, grinning a little as Mina blinked at him. "Anyway...Don't worry too much about it, no one down here has done much for christmas the last few years. I mean, everyone still does little things for their family, or for their kids at least...But most of us just haven't had the holiday spirit, I guess you could say."

"Ahh..." Mina paused, thinking for a moment and smiling brightly. "Well...Maybe I can help with that. Is uh...Is there a grocer in Snowdin? I...Probably won't be able to do too much, but I can at least bake something for everyone. Sans, do you know if there is anything in particular that _**everyone**_ would like?" She asked, hoping he understood what she was actually asking. She hadn't forgotten that there would be someone else living in the skeleton house, and was actually looking forward to meeting the human who seemed to have made such an impact on the monsters of the underground.

"Well uh...I'm not too sure, but I'm pretty sure most of us would like anything you'd fix." Sans replied, blinking after a moment and smiling widely. "But if you want to make like...Some cookies or a cake maybe, I bet _**everyone**_ would like that." He nodded, giving her a small wink. "Oh right...You'll need some gold if you're gonna go shopping...Uhh."

"o-Ohh...I...Didn't think to get anything for anyone, so...I can help with that, unless it would be a bother to you two..." Blooky smiled for a moment, before sighing and hanging his head. "I'm sorry, I'm already bothering..."

"Actually, that'd be a big help, Napsta." Sans chuckled, standing and stretching for a moment. "Hey, if you wanna take her shopping, go right ahead. I'll start on getting the decorations up before Paps gets home." He said, scratching the side of his skull as he tried to remember where the decorations were. "Pretty sure they're in the garage..."

"Just let me clean up real quick, Blooky." Mina smiled a little, picking up the empty plates and hurrying to the kitchen. "Maybe we can pick something up for your cousin, too. I mean...You know what he'd like better than anyone, don't you?"

"o-Oh...I guess so." Blooky chuckled nervously, slowly standing up and heading towards the door once Mina was done. Sans waited there was well, shrugging off his hoodie and handing it to Mina."Uhh...So just the shop here in Snowdin, right?"

"Ehh...Yeah, I don't think she's ready to head into Waterfall or Hotland yet, and I'd rather not send her all the way out there alone." Sans said, sighing a little bit. "No offense Blooky, but I'd feel better if Paps or Undyne went along with her. I don't think there'll be anything wrong with you going with her, but uh...This is Snowdin, so it's pretty damn safe."

"...That's probably a good idea." Blooky sighed, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I know there's been some...Really rowdy people hanging out near the lab, and a few even wandering around in Waterfall. I...Don't think I would be much help if they decided to pick a fight with Mina..." He frowned, an odd glint in his eyes for just a brief second before he shook his head, following Mina and Sans outside.

"Oh hey, if the shop doesn't have everything you need as far as food goes, I can run up to the capital later, there's way more shops there...Just it's not the safest place right now." Sans huffed, heading over to the garage as Mina and Blooky headed on towards the shop. Turning his head, he spotted Fox waddling her way eat of the house, chuckling a bit as the little brown dog was joined by an overly excited Toby. "Huh...Surprised she's not following Mina..." He shrugged, disappearing into the garage to look for the decorations.

As they walked to the shop, Mina took a look around warily. A few adult monsters were busy decorating a large tree in what she guessed was the middle of the town, some of the children she had seen the other day running around and throwing snowballs at one another. "...This place really is peaceful, isn't it?" Mina sighed, smiling a little and closing her eyes as she walked, Blooky still walking beside her. "Up on the surface, I visited a lot of small towns...People were always suspicious of outsiders, no one I met this last year was anywhere near as welcoming as everyone down here has been."

"o-Oh...So...You didn't like living up there?" Blooky asked, tilting his head a little bit. "At least you always got to see things, like...The sun, or the moon...None of us down here have ever seen them, or the stars..." He sighed quietly, casting his gaze to the ground for a moment. "I...Know someone who dreams about seeing the stars...If I could, I'd give them to them for christmas."

"Well...Depending on where you are on the surface, sometimes you can't even see the stars..." Mina sighed, glancing over at him a moment. "There are so many lights from all the cities, they light up the sky and hide the stars. You have to be really far out and away from civilization to actually get a good view of them."

"o-Oh...Well, still...It would be nice to see them one day." Napstablook sighed once again, pausing in front of the shop and opening the door for Mina to go inside.

Elsewhere, Papyrus laughed and grinned, carrying Kid over his shoulder. " **HONESTLY, YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO PROVOKE UNDYNE BY NOW, YOU KNOW HOW SHE GETS IN COMBAT TRAINING...** " He mused, smiling cheerfully as Undyne followed behind him and huffed. " **DID YOU REALLY HAVE TO BE SO HARD ON HIM THIS TIME THOUGH?** "

"Pap, I don't care if he doesn't have arms, I'm not gonna go easy on him when he pisses me off." Undyne grumbled, glancing over at Kid for a moment. "I don't get it though...He's never gotten that fired up during training, especially combat training." She chuckled a bit, trying to figure out what Kid had meant when he yelled at her. "Well...Drop him off and call it a day I guess. I'll see you later, Pap."

" **HAVE A GOOD DAY, UNDYNE!** " Papyrus shouted over his shoulder as Undyne headed in a different direction, continuing on his way back to Snowdin with Kid in tow. He hadn't walked very far when Kid began to wake up, groaning something quietly as Papyrus began to speak to him. " **HOW ARE YOU FEELING, KID? I'M SORRY, I TRIED TO CALM UNDYNE DOWN BUT...WELL, YOU REALLY GOT TO HER, I SUPPOSE...WHAT WERE YOU TWO EVEN YELLING ABOUT TO BEGIN WITH?** "

"Huh...Oh, Papyrus..." Kid winced, tilting his head away from the loud skeleton for a moment. "Yo...Could you put me down? I uh...I can explain, but uh...You're kinda loud this close, dude." He chuckled as best he could, trying to regain is balance as Papy set him down. "Thanks dude...Hey, where are we right now?"

" **OH, WE'RE ACTUALLY ON THE WAY BACK TO SNOWDIN...UNDYNE SAID TO CALL IT A DAY AFTER YOU PASSED OUT, AND I'VE BEEN CARRYING YOU SINCE THEN."** Papyrus explained, still smiling and tilting his head slightly as Kid turned around and started in another direction. " **WHERE ARE YOU GOING? SNOWDIN IS THIS WAY..."**

"Oh, uh...I just feel like going over to the ruins, that's all. Yo, if you wanna come with me, that's fine, I can explain a little on the way..." Kid trailed off, biting his bottom lip a little. He knew Sans would likely kill him if he gave away the surprise, but Sans never said anything about staying away from the ruins.

" **WELL...I SUPPOSE I SHOULDN'T LEAVE YOU ALONE, YOU ARE INJURED AFTER ALL..."** Papyrus sighed, following along behind Kid. " **I AM CURIOUS THOUGH, WHY THE RUINS? DO YOU THINK SOMEONE MIGHT FALL DOWN HERE, LOOKING FOR MINA?** "

"Uhh...I dunno, dude. I kinda just wanted to look around, you know?" He paused, his tail whipping slowly behind him as he thought. "...Hey, Papyrus, can I...Ask you a few things?"

" **OF COURSE, KID! YOU ARE FREE TO ASK ME ANYTHING YOU WANT, AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL DO MY BEST TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS**!" Papyrus exclaimed, crossing his arms and peering curiously at the younger monster as they continued towards the ruins. " **NOW...WHAT WAS IT YOU WANTED TO ASK ME?** "

"Well...Two things, kinda." Kid gulped, spotting the doors to the ruins and taking a deep breath before continuing. "So uh...Why did you want to become a Royal Guard, I mean the real reason. Being popular is nice and all, but it's not everything..." He paused, glancing over his shoulder and seeing a slightly confused look on Papyrus's face. "Uh...I mean, if you don't wanna tell me the story...Oh right, the story!" Kid jumped a little, turning around and walking backwards as he continued speaking. "i-I mean, after hearing Grillby's story, I figured...That skeleton dude he talked about was supposed to be some real badass, right? He was kinda alone though, so even if everyone knew about him, I don't think he'd care about being popular..."

Papyrus's face seemed to light up at the mention of Grillby's story, his smile returning and widening greatly. " **OH YES, I REMEMBER NOW. GRILLBY'S STORY WAS QUITE INTERESTING, ACTUALLY...IT DID GET ME THINKING THOUGH, SINCE WELL...THERE WAS NO ROYAL GUARD BACK THEN, AND YET ROMAN WAS WELL KNOWN BY BOTH THE MONSTERS AND THE HUMANS OF THE TIME...** " Papyrus trailed off, sighing a little bit. " **I ALWAYS DREAMED OF BEING A ROYAL GUARD WHEN I WAS A BOY, THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SUCH RESPECTED INDIVIDUALS. LOVED BY EVERYONE, IDOLIZED, JUST...THEY WERE ALWAYS MY HEROS, YOU KNOW?** " He smiled, glancing away for a moment before following Kid through the door of the ruins. " **...BUT...MAYBE IT'S JUST NOT MEANT TO BE FOR ME. I'VE BEEN TRAINING FOR SO LONG, AND UNDYNE STILL WON'T LET ME JOIN...** "

"Yo...You could still join them, if uh...I dunno, maybe if you talk to the queen? She does kinda outrank Undyne, you know..." Kid sighed, turning back around as he continued. "But like, what's the good of joining the guard if you're on call all day...Like, wouldn't it be better to just..." He paused, shaking his head. "...Papyrus? Do you have anyone that...Well...Someone you want to protect, no matter what? Even if something happened to like...turn people against you?"

" **YOU MEAN SOMEONE I WANT TO PROTECT, EVEN IF IT MEANS HURTING MY FRIENDS?** " Papyrus frowned, crossing his arms once again, this time keeping them crossed. " **YOU KNOW, UNDYNE ASKED ME THAT BACK WHEN WE FIRST STARTED TRAINING...I SUPPOSE MY ANSWER NOW IS THE SAME AS IT WAS BACK THEN, THOUGH...TO TELL THE TRUTH, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE I WANT TO PROTECT NOW.** "

"Uh...w-Well, what about someone...Y'know. Special." Kid mumbled, giving Papyrus an odd look as he peered over his shoulder at him. "...Nevermind. Forget I said anything."

" **OH, ALRIGHT...CAN I ASK WHO IT IS YOU WANT TO PROTECT THOUGH, KID? OR RATHER...IS THIS WHAT YOU AND UNDYNE WERE ARGUING OVER BEFORE, DURING YOUR TRAINING?** " Papyrus inquired, stopping a few steps behind Kid as he froze in place. " **KID, WHAT'S THE MATTER?** "

"n-Nothing dude, just uh...Don't ask me who it is, alright? I mean...It's kinda complicated, so just...Please don't ask?" Kid sighed deeply, a tinge of color to his cheeks as he looked back at Papyrus. "So uh...I've got one more question...Come on, let's keep going."

" **...ALRIGHT, BUT I REALLY DON'T THINK WE SHOULD STAY HERE FOR TOO LONG..."** Papyrus said as he continued walking, tapping his chin in thought. Though he was curious about who it was Kid wanted to protect, he wouldn't push the subject. Instead, he quietly followed behind his young friend, carefully looking around the ruins as they made their way deeper. " **I HAVE TO ADMIT...I'VE ONLY BEEN IN HERE A FEW TIMES. I KNOW THERE WERE A FEW PUZZLES IN HERE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THEY ALL HAVE LONG BEEN DEACTIVATED...** "

"Yeah, I heard from Sans there were some puzzles here, but uh...We didn't run in to any from what I saw." Kid swished his tail behind him, glancing around. "All we found here was Mina and her little pet...So uh...About that question I mentioned, Paps..." He paused, stopping as they approached the doorway to the last room. "...What uh...What would you do if we did find someone else down here?"

" **SOMEONE ELSE...WELL, I'D WELCOME THEM DOWN HERE OF COURSE!** " Papyrus smiled, laughing a little as he went on ahead of Kid. " **NYEH HEH HEH...ALL HUMANS ARE TO BE TREATED AS FRIENDS NOW, THANKS TO QUEEN TORIEL'S LAWS. SHE REALLY IS SUCH A WONDERFUL PERSON, AND SINCE SHE'S NOT ABLE TO LIVE HERE ANYMORE, IT'S UP TO THE REST OF US TO MAKE ANY NEW FRIENDS FEEL WELCOMED**!"

"Well uh...What if, I dunno...What if..." Kid stopped, blinking as Papyrus stood silently in front of him, simply staring into the final room. "...Paps? What are you..." He stopped speaking, looking into the room and letting his mouth hang open as he spotted something in the room. Where all the snow had been days before, there was now a bed of bright golden flowers, a few strange objects sticking out of the flowers. From the doorway, they appeared to be rocks, but after a moment of looking both Kid and Papyrus knew they were anything but rocks. When something stirred from behind the objects, both monsters went wide eyed, Papyrus letting out a high pitched squeal as he darted towards the flower bed.

"You really don't have to carry all of it, Blooky..." Mina sighed, smiling a little as she looked over at Blooky, who was carrying several bags of groceries as they walked back towards the skeleton brothers' house. "I'm not that weak...I feel guilty enough letting you pay for them all, so please?"

"o-Oh...n-No, I got them...Even just little things like this will help me get used to this body, at least that's what Alphys said..." Napstablook smiled shyly, averting his gaze from her. "I uh...I needed to thank you anyway, for helping me find that gift..."

"Oh, that was nothing, really...But do you think your cousin will really wear it?" Mina giggled, looking up ahead and spotting Fox and Toby jumping around in the snow outside the house. "It is really cute though...I'm surprised they had a shooting star necklace like that down here." She sighed just a bit, kneeling down and letting Fox jump into her arms. "There you are...I was wondering where you were, you didn't come with me. If you're this relaxed, I guess I can be, too..."

"Your dog...Was heading towards Waterfall earlier, before I brought it back..." Blooky trailed off, frowning slightly as he looked down the path east of the house. "It's usually safe there, but...There's been some pretty nasty guys hanging around...o-Ohhh...I don't want to think about what they would do if they ran into you."

"...Are...Are they some of the ones who don't agree with the laws about humans?" Mina asked hesitantly, tilting her head a little as Blooky shook his head. "Really? Uhm...Then why would they anything?" When Blooky didn't answer, she took another glance over at him, blinking as she saw what looked like anger reflected in his eyes for a brief second. "b-Blooky?"

"o-Oh...s-Sorry, I...Don't want to think about those guys right now." Blooky sighed, shaking his head again and following Mina up to the door. "I should be heading back now, I...I'm sure my cousin is getting worried about where I am, and I need to go see someone..." He said, seeming to be forcing a smile as he walked into the house.

"Oh, that's alright. I'll get these put away, you go do what you need to do, Blooky." Mina smiled, taking some of the bags from him and hurrying to the kitchen ahead of him, shouting a bit as she did. "Saaaans, we're back! Do you think Papyrus will be upset if I make some room for the rest of the food?"

"Nah, go right ahead." Sans shouted in reply, wrapping a strand of lights and garland around the railing at the top of the stairs. "Napsta, you let me know if you need anything, alright?" Sans said, not missing the surprised look that came to Blooky's face when the robot looked up toward him. "Ehh...Undyne called earlier to make sure you got here in one piece..."

"...o-Oh...Thanks, Sans. I...Think I can manage, but thank you...Sans." Blooky bowed his head a little, setting the rest of the bags down near the doorway to the kitchen and making his way back outside, moving out of the way as both dogs ran into the house suddenly. "Have a nice day Mina, Sans..."

"Bye Blooky!" Mina shouted from the kitchen, the sounds of containers clattering against the floor echoing a moment later. "Sans! How could you two just shove all this spaghetti in here like this?! Some of these...I swear they're about to grow legs and walk out on their own!"

"Ehh...I really only use the fridge for ketchup, so uh...The rest is Pap's mess." Sans chuckled, coming down the stairs and walking over to the kitchen doorway. Glancing at a few of the bags, he grinned a little. "Looks like you got enough food to feed the royal army..."

"w-Well...I figured it would be better if I got some real food for everyone, and since someone else will be living here soon..." Mina sighed, quickly stacking a few more containers of old spaghetti on the floor and starting to put away some of the new food. "If nothing else, I can cook more than spaghetti so...Guess you won't be eating at Grillby's every night." She smiled, even chuckling a little before glancing over her shoulder at him. "I got everything I needed for my little holiday project too, so you won't need to go anywhere."

"That's good to hear. So...Need any help in here?" Sans asked, tilting his head a little and looking towards the rest of the bags. "Anything in these need to go in the fridge?"

"Uhm...No, I need to clean out a shelf for most of those, or the cupboard..." Mina sighed, blinking as a door next to her opened and various small boxes of cereal and snacks went floating into the cabinet, a familiar blue glow surrounding them. "Hehe...Thank you, Sans!" She smiled, the faintest bit of color coming to her cheeks. "I can handle the rest...You should get the rest of the decorations up if you want to surprise Papy!"

"Ah, right. I'm almost done actually, I just need to get the tree up and decorated." Sans nodded, heading back out into the living room and rummaging through a large box where the couch once was. "There's really not a whole lot of decorations for the tree...I mean, we have a few, but just some really old ones. They're uh..." He paused, his phone starting to ring in his back pocket. Quickly taking it out and flipping it open, he saw the name of the caller. "Hey Pap, you still out with-"

" **SAAAANS!"** Papyrus wailed on the other end of the phone, screaming and shouting in a way that not even Sans could understand what was being said.

"Papyrus, calm down! What's going on?" Sans asked, a tone of worry quickly coming to his voice. "Either calm down or give the phone to Undyne! What's going on?!" Finally, Sans was able to make out one word amongst his brother's screaming, his eyes widening as he stood in the middle of the living room. "...I'll be right there."

"Sans, what's wrong?" Mina asked, peering at him from the kitchen doorway. She had heard Papyrus's screaming from the kitchen, concern plain on her face as she looked over at Sans. When he hung up his phone and turned to face her with a grin, she gave him a confused look. "...Sans?"

"Sorry, I uh...Well, I'm gonna have to leave you here for a bit, alright?" Sans chuckled, shaking his head a little. "Oh right...I'll need my hoodie back before I head out, sorry. You'll understand soon enough, so don't worry too much."

"Oh, here." Mina sighed, slipping the hoodie off and walking over to hand it to him. "I think I'll be alright by myself for a bit...Besides, Fox will be here with me..."

"Shouldn't be gone for very long, just uh...Gotta go take care of something." Sans said, slipping his hoodie on and quickly heading toward the door. "I'll take care of th tree and stuff when I get back, Papyrus will probably want to help anyway." He grinned, turning to look at Mina and giving her a wink. "Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone, alright?"

"I'll try, no promises though." Mina chuckled quietly, blinking and looking to the bags as she heard a rustling sound. Seeing a white tail poking out of one bag, she went into panic mode. "Toby no! That is not dog food, don't you dare!" She screeched, quickly grabbing the little dog and fishing him out of the bag before he could start chewing on anything. Hearing Sans snicker on his way out the door, she let out a sigh and got back to putting the rest of the food away. "I hope everything is alright..."

Once everything was put away and safely out of reach of the dogs, Mina took a moment to get a small package out of the cabinet, a small package of cookies that had been mixed in with everything Sans had put away earlier. "I never thought I'd be so glad to see chocolate chips in my entire life." She giggled, tearing open the package and taking out a single cookie, sniffing it for a moment and letting out a deep sigh as she slid down the wall where the couch once was until she was sitting. "How long has it been since I've even had something like this?" She sighed once more, closing her eyes and taking a bite of the cookie. Opening an eye, she spotted both dogs sitting next to her and staring at the cookies, which she quickly moved away from the begging balls of fur. "...You two can't have these, sorry. I didn't find any dog treats so...I'll make the ones you like later, Fox, but you'll have to share them with Toby." Mina smiled, even laughing a bit as Fox folded her ears back and huffed. "Oh don't worry...Toby will only get them if he behaves..."

As if on cue, Toby stood up and ran across the living room, running up the stairs and barking as he ran into one of the rooms. Once the little dog disappeared Mina stood back up and stretched, taking her cookies with her up to her room. After finding her headphones and mp3 player, she slipped them on and another bite of her cookie, plopping down on her bed and sighing as she turned the volume up. "...I hope everything is alright...Papyrus sounded like he was crying. Maybe I should have gone with Sans..." Closing her eyes and turning on her side, she sighed and popped the rest of the cookie into her mouth, letting her music drown out everything else.

A while later, Mina let out a yawn, tugging her headphones down around her neck and opening an eye. She jumped a little when she spotted Toby sitting next to her bed, sitting up and tilting her head as she looked at the little dog. He was holding something in his mouth, dropping it when Mina reached down to grab it from him. "Where did you get this, huh?...Hey wait..." Mina blinked as she looked at the object, which she quickly figured out was a small dusty picture frame. Looking around the room, she spotted a small bit of dust near the side of the dresser, assuming Toby had dug the frame out from under it. Brushing the dust off the front of the frame, she could see a somewhat faded picture, smiling a little as she recognized two of the people in it. "Aww...Papyrus looks so little. I wonder if Sans knows this was up here..." Moments later, Mina heard Fox barking downstairs, hearing a familiar laugh soon after.

" **NYEH HEH HEH! MINA, WHERE ARE YOU? SANS SAID HE LEFT YOU HERE ALONE, SO I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HURRIED BACK AS SOON AS I COULD!** " Papyrus shouted, setting down two large backpacks and looking around the room. Seeing the decorations that had been put up around the room, Papyrus paused and smiled brightly, soon spotting Mina when she walked over to the railing. " **OH, THERE YOU ARE!** " He exclaimed, picking the backpacks back up and heading up the stairs. " **I UH...I NEED TO PUT THESE UPSTAIRS, I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!** "

"Uhm...Alright." Mina blinked, deciding to head back downstairs to shut the door, since Papy had left it open. Just as she was about to shut the door, Toby came tearing downstairs, barking loudly and leaping through the door. "Weren't you just out? You almost got caught in the door..." She sighed, blinking as the dog ran back inside and started happily running in circles. Hearing Sans' familiar chuckle, she backed away from the door and smiled. "Welcome back."

"Yo, coming through!" Kid said as he came around the door, a smaller backpack than the two Papyrus had carried in resting on his back, his tail helping to keep it from falling off. He nodded to Mina and smiled, heading into the living room and setting the backpack down before turning and looking back towards the door.

Sans came in a few moments after him, his hoodie nowhere to be seen. Once inside, he turned to face the doorway, smiling widely as someone else walked in and even putting his hand on their head, which was covered by the hood of his hoodie. "I'm surprised no one else recognized you, I guess they thought you were Mina...You sure you don't want to let anyone else know yet?"

"No way, it'll be the perfect Christmas surprise!" A young girl's voice said, the figure in the hoodie closing the door and pausing a moment as they spotted Mina. A pair of brown eyes peeked out from under the hood, a playful grin coming to the face of the figure as they glanced over at Sans a moment later. "Ahh...So this must be her. Heheh...I guess this answers my question, doesn't it Sans?"

"...Please, Kiddo, don't." Sans groaned, shaking his head a little before looking to Mina. "We got our big present early, as you can see...Don't let her appearance fool you though, this kid isn't as innocent as she looks."

"That's mean, Sans." The girl snickered, slipping the hoodie off and shaking out her short brown hair. "So, you're Mina right? I'm Frisk, it's nice to meet you!" Frisk said, giving a friendly smile and reaching her hand out toward Mina. "Sans said you're a bit shy, but don't worry. I don't bite or anything, you can ask anyone."

"It's nice to meet you, Frisk." Mina smiled shyly, reaching out and shaking the younger girl's hand after a moment. "I'm guessing this is why Papyrus was so hysterical on the phone earlier? I uh...I could kind of hear him all the way from the kitchen when he called Sans."

"Eheh...Yeah, Papy was so surprised, I didn't think he'd ever stop hugging me." Frisk giggled, spotting Papyrus as he descended the stairs. "I missed it down here...But I really missed my skelebros." She smiled, squealing a few moments later when Papyrus scooped her up and twirled through the living room with her.

"Paps is way too happy right now..." Kid sighed, an odd smile on his face as he sat against the wall near Mina and Sans. When Mina sat next to him, he glanced over, tilting his head as she smiled. "...Uh, hi."

"You really missed her didn't you?" Mina whispered, knowing Frisk and Papyrus's laughter would keep them from hearing her. Seeing the look on Kid's face change, she giggled a bit, closing her eyes and turning her head away. "I'm glad you all get to see your friend again...She seems like a real sweet girl."

"y-Yeah, she is...Just uh...Don't tell her I said that." Kid grumbled, hopping to his feet after a few moments and sighing. "Yo, I'm uh...I'm gonna head back home and rest for a bit, I'm still kinda worn out from that match with Undyne..." He paused, rolling his neck for a moment and freezing suddenly as Frisk suddenly came over and hugged him.

"You goof, why didn't you tell me before? I wouldn't have made you carry my backpack!" Frisk giggled, letting go and smiling sweetly. "You go get some rest, alright? We have so much catching up to do, all of us...So rest up and be ready for that later!"

"y-Yeah, right..." Kid stammered, blinking a few times and quickly making his way to the door, opening it with his tail. "l-Later you guys, I uh...i-I'll see you around, Frisk!" He said quickly, almost running out the door and closing it behind himself. Sans, who was still standing, simply grinned and shook his head before taking a seat on the floor near Mina.

" **FRISK, ARE YOU HUNGRY? SHALL I MAKE SOME OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI FOR YOU?** " Papyrus asked, already heading into the kitchen. Upon opening the cabinet, he found himself staring and blinking slowly at the amount of food that had suddenly appeared, deciding to look in the fridge as well. " **...SAAAAAAANS WHAT HAPPENED? MOST OF MY SPAGHETTI IS...DID YOU TWO EAT IT WHILE I WAS GONE?** "

"Oh! I'm sorry, Papyrus, I forgot to tell you!" Mina shouted, chuckling a little and springing to her feet. "I uh...Napstablook and I went shopping, and I thought you guys might like something other than spaghetti every night...You're not mad, are you?"

" **SOMETHING OTHER THAN...WELL, I SUPPOSE I COULD TRY SOME OTHER RECIPEES...** " Papyrus sighed, still smiling as he looked at Mina from over his shoulder.

"Well, actually...I actually like cooking, so..." Mina giggled, tucking her hands behind her back. "If you want, I can take care of dinner most nights...I could teach you a few recipes I know, and maybe you could teach me how to make your spaghetti in return?"

 **"WOWIE! YOU...YOU MEAN YOU'D ACTUALLY WANT TO LEARN TO COOK FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS?"**

"Well of course!" Mina smiled, closing her eyes as she continued. "Spaghetti is one of the things I haven't really fixed very much...I used to cook for my brother and grandfather, and they weren't really fans of pasta..." She trailed off, opening an eye and trying not to laugh at the blank stare Papy was giving her. "Don't worry, unlike them I love pasta." She said, squeaking a moment later as Papyrus scooped her up into a hug.

" **YOU AND FRISK ARE THE BEST KIND OF HUMANS!...EVEN IF YOU'RE THE ONLY HUMANS I KNOW.** " Papyrus stated, smiling brightly as he set her back down. " **BUT THERE IS STILL THE QUESTION, SHOULD I FIX SOMETHING FOR FRISK ?"**

"Well, there is still some leftover pizza...I warmed some up for Sans and Blooky earlier." Mina said, turning and peering back into the living room at the other two. "Frisk, is pizza alright?"

"Oh sure! But uh, one of you will have to bring it in to me. I kinda can't get up at the moment." Frisk laughed, Mina spotting the reasons after a moment. Both dogs were jumping around in the younger girl's lap, Toby doing his best to climb up to her face and preventing her from doing anything as he showered her with licks.

"I'll get it, don't worry." Mina laughed, shaking her head a little as she looked from the dogs to the laughing girl, taking a moment to look at Papyrus as he stood next to her and smiled. ' _They look so happy to see each other again...Even Sans seems happier than before.'_ She thought, taking a brief glance at Sans before heading back into the kitchen. Not only did he look happy, but relieved, as if a massive weight had been lifted with Frisk in the house. For a moment she wondered if it would really be alright for her to stay with them, shaking the thought out of her head and smiling as she went about getting Frisk's pizza. _'If I stay here with the three of them, am I going to be a burden?...Guess it's a bit late to think like that...I'll just have to wait and see what happens from here on out. With any luck, things will stay as calm as they are now.'_

The hours seemed to fly by as the humans and skeletons happily chatted away inside the house, the dogs falling asleep in the laps of both girls after some time. As the sky began to darken, a familiar small figure watched the house in annoyance, hidden by the large pine trees and the snowbanks south of the house. "...Well, isn't this nice. Guess that explains why the damn trashbag has been so happy...Fine. Let them have their happy little holiday. If I hang back for a bit, it'll only be a matter of time before they drop their guard...Then once they do, I'll have another chance sooner or later." The figure sneered, closing its eyes and zipping underground moments later. If there was one thing this creature had, it was patience, and a few measly days wouldn't make any real difference in its plans.


	7. Chapter 6 - Happy Holidays

****JEEBUS I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG UGH! I've been dealing with a lot of stuff still, so yeah. I can't promise the next update won't take a month, since I'm starting a second Undertale fanfic 'v' Both of them 'should' be updated more frequently though. Note - I will be alternating updates between the two, with the first chapter of the newer fic being the next one I post. Thanks for reading!****

After spending the majority of the previous afternoon and night spent chatting, things in the skeleton brothers' house had calmed back down. Mina and Frisk had stayed up for most of the night in their shared room, the younger girl telling the older one all about her time spent in the underground as a child. At some point they had both finally fallen asleep, each one having a dog sleeping beside them. With her first night back being so hectic, Frisk hadn't had time to unpack yet, groaning as she forced herself out of bed before the others woke up. She remembered how early Papyrus would wake most days, having got herself into the habit of waking at least half an hour before him in the weeks leading up to her return.

Even though she had been sure no one else would be up so early, Frisk was surprised to find herself proven wrong. Neither of the dogs were in the room as she crawled out of her bed, Mina's bed having already been made. "Huh...I guess I don't have to worry about waking her up." Frisk yawned, rubbing her eyes a little and looking around the room. It was fair to say she hadn't expected there to be another large room in the house, when she had first been shown upstairs she had thought someone was playing a prank on her by leading her to the closet. She had wondered for a little while why she had never known about this room when she had been living with the brothers before, deciding she would have to ask Sans about it later.

While Frisk set to work putting some of her stuff away, she started wondering just how much things in the underground may have changed. When she had been walking to the house with Sans and the others, she had noticed how no one had been outside, something that struck her as odd. With Christmas so close, she had expected to see at least a few people out and about, but that hadn't been the case, though she was sort of thankful for that. The fewer people who saw her come back, the more they would be surprised at her return. She had been a bit surprised herself when Kid and Papyrus found her, but she was quite glad they showed up when they did, since she had been too tired to carry her backpacks anymore. It wasn't that she had brought a lot of stuff for herself though, a grin coming to her face as she looked at one of the two large camping backpacks. "I really hope they all like their gifts...Guess I'll find out tonight."

"What about tonight?" Mina yawned as she entered the room, blinking as she saw Frisk jump a bit. "Sorry, did I surprise you?"

"A little, yeah...Why're you up so early?" Frisk asked, smiling at the older girl as she walked over and handed her a bowl of cereal. "Oh, thanks!"

"Don't mention it...I kinda wanted to get started on baking something, but I think I'll wait until the guys are up." Mina smiled, walking back to her bed and taking a seat as she ate her own cereal. "You're going to try to give everyone gifts tonight?"

"That's the plan, yeah. I figured I could ask Sans and Papy to invite everyone all of our friends over, and I know my m-..." Frisk paused, frowning a little as she remembered something Sans had told her on the way to Snowdin. "...I mean, I know the Queen would be thrilled to know I'm back, but I don't think I'll be able to see her for a while."

"You know the Queen?" Mina blinked, giving the girl a curious look. "Sans has mentioned her before...But it still surprises me that he knows someone that important."

"Oh right, you don't know the whole story yet..." Frisk chuckled, closing her eyes. "Well, how about I tell you a bit?" She asked, keeping her eyes closed as she recalled her first days in the underground.

 _She didn't know how long she had been laying in the flowers, staring up at the sky which now seemed so far away, barley able to see beyond the walls of the cavern she had fallen into. Her memory of how she had even fallen down, or why she had been at the mountain above was foggy at best, but she did remember one thing. On the surface, she had been alone, unwanted. Nobody would come looking for her, she knew this much, and it was that reason alone that made her come to her senses. If no one on the surface wanted her, she would just stay alone._

 _After she had gotten her bearings, the young girl began exploring her surroundings, looking around in awe as the scenery changed from rough cavern walls to carved pillars a spot of light illuminating a strange flower inside a small room just past the one she had awoken in. When she approached the flower, she was shocked to hear it speaking to her, easily being deceived by its kind and friendly tones. Soon though, she found out the flower's true nature, cowering as the 'friendliness pellets' is launched at her drew closer. Knowing she couldn't avoid the, she simply cowered as she held her battered little body, gasping as a ball of fire suddenly knocked the flower away._

 _"What a dreadful creature, attacking a poor defenseless child like that...Please, don't be afraid, my child." A motherly voice said as a figure drew near, white fur and gentle eyes being the first things to stand out as the girl turned her head to look at her savior. "I am Toriel, keeper of the ruins. Please, don't be frightened, I mean you no harm." Toriel said, kneeling down and gently placing a hand on the child's cheek. "Are you alright? That wretched little creature didn't harm you too badly, did it?"_

 _"i-I'm okay..." The girl hesitated, cautiously reaching her hand up to grasp Toriel's other hand, which she had offered to the girl to help her to her feet. "Thank you, Miss Toriel..."_

 _"It isn't safe for a little one like you to wander alone down here..." Toriel sighed, a sad smile playing on her face. "Maybe...Would you like to come stay with me?" she asked, calmly leading the child through the ruins after she was given a small nod._

"It seems like this all happened so long ago...Anyways, Toriel took me in and treated me as if I were her own child. I couldn't remember if I ever had anyone treat me like she did on the surface, but..." Frisk paused, looking over her shoulder at the older girl as she smiled at her. "...I could just imagine that was what it was like to have a mom. One day, I asked her if...If I could call her that, and I don't think I had ever see her smile like that before." She sighed, shaking her head a little. "In the end though, I couldn't just stay in the ruins forever...A lot of things happened, and eventually I had to leave the underground. After I left the ruins, I didn't see her again until...Well, until I was about to leave. The king was gone, and...I know it had to have hurt her, it was my fault after all."

"Your fault?" Mina inquired, tilting her head slightly. She remembered Sans mentioning the king before, though she was still a bit confused about what had happened to him. She did remember Sans mentioning he had given up his soul to allow Frisk to leave the underground, but she hadn't been sure on how that would have worked.

"...For years, the monsters down here were collecting human souls, so they could free themselves and return to the surface." Frisk said, putting a few more of her things away as she continued. "Monster souls alone aren't strong enough to cross the barrier, they need the power...The Determination that human souls possess in order to cross it. It's the same for human souls...While ours are the stronger of the two races, even we can't cross the barrier on our own. So when he realized the other souls he had collected were missing, and that I wasn't going to fight him...He gave up his life, so that I could be free..."

"I think I understand now..." Mina sighed, closing her eyes. "...I remember now, Sans mentioned that if I wanted to leave...I don't think I could ever go through with it, and besides...I have no reason to go back to the surface. My family...Well, I'd rather not talk about them for now." She sighed, setting her bowl on a small night stand and walking over to Frisk. "Anyway...I'm sure everyone will be happy when they find out you're back. I know Sans and Papyrus were happier than I had seen them, Kid too."

"I can't believe Kid is taller than me now..." Frisk giggled, grinning a little. "When I lived down here before, he was a good inch or two shorter than me. His tail was a lot shorter too, and he was always tripping over his own two feet. I mean, he's still the same goof I knew back then...I'm really glad he was there with Papy, I really missed him..."

"I think he missed you too." Mina chuckled, closing her eyes. "I probably shouldn't tell you, but when he and Sans first found me, he was in a bit of a panic thinking I was you...Then well, Sans explained to the two of us that you were coming back to the underground."

"I told him not to tell anyone...But, I guess it couldn't be helped." Frisk huffed a bit, shrugging as well. Glancing over her shoulder, she took a look at the scratch on Mina's cheek. "You know...That's really not something I can ever remember Flowey doing. I mean, I know he's not the nicest monster in the underground, but I don't ever remember him attacking anyone with anything other than his 'friendliness pellets'..."

"Well, maybe he's changed since you've been gone, too..." Mina sighed, hugging herself as she knelt down next to one of the backpacks. "Do you need any help with these?"

"Oh, no, that pack has all of the presents in it. No one is looking in it until tonight." Frisk grinned, digging in one of the other two packs for something. "So I have some questions...I heard from Papy, you're older than me...So I gotta ask. Did you have a boyfriend back on the surface?" She mused, her grin widening as Mina's face took on a red tint.

"No, I did not. I uh...Kinda didn't really get out much, I honestly wasn't allowed to leave my grandfather's house." Mina sighed, turning her head away for a moment. "Besides, I...Well, I never really wanted to be in a relationship, I guess. Watching my brother try time after time and seeing how many girls he hurt...I didn't want to end up like any of them, I suppose."

"Really? No one you liked at all?"

"...Why are you so curious?" Mina frowned, not liking the grin the younger girl was still giving her. "Or better yet, what are you plotting?" She asked, blinking as Frisk pulled a smaller bag from one of the packs and handed it to her. "...What is this?"

"If you never had anyone you liked, I doubt you ever dressed up to impress anyone...Well, at least not in anything flashy." Frisk chuckled, winking at her. "I was actually gonna wear that to surprise everyone tonight, but I think it'll look weird on me. Why don't you try it on?" She suggested, glancing into her pack and smirking a bit to herself as she spotted something else.

"..Uhm...Alright." Mina blinked, taking the bag and looking at it for a moment. "What uh...What exactly is it?"

"Just go try it on, I won't look." Frisk smiled, hopping to her feet and running over to the door, sitting on it after closing it so no one would climb into the room while Mina tried on the clothing.

Once Mina had gotten the clothing out of the bag, she quickly regretted agreeing to try it on. The clothing, if it could be called that, consisted of a pair of red holiday boots and a matching top, which resembled a short dress with a built in hood. It reminded her a bit of a Santa costume, the red color and the white fur lining the bottom of the outfit as well as the hood and sleeves making her smile a little bit. Checking to see if there was anything else in the bag, she sighed. "...It's...Just these? Really?"

"Mhm, but it's long enough where you shouldn't need to wear those shorts with it." Frisk grinned, having snuck her camera out of her pack and hidden it in her sleeve. "Just let me know when you're done changing, I wanna see how it looks!"

"...Just give me a minute." Mina sighed, deciding to humor the girl and carefully slipping the costume over her head. It was a little tight on her, but since she wouldn't be wearing it for more than a minute, she didn't bottom of the costume came up to just an inch or two above the bottoms of her shorts, the older girl sighing and wiggling out of them since she would be changing them in a minute anyways. After slipping the boots on she flipped the hood up and sighed. "...As comfy as this is, I don't think I'd ever wear anything like this." She chuckled, turning around and glancing at Frisk. "You can look now...Just don't laugh, alright?"

Grinning and making sure to keep her camera hidden in her sleeve, Frisk scooted around to look, blinking and grinning widely. "Oooo...Looks nice on you!" She snickered, snapping a shot when Mina looked up to fuss with the hood. ' _Perfect...Sorry Mina, nothing personal.'_ Frisk chuckled to herself, faking a yawn as she stood, stuffing her hands, and her camera, into her pockets afterwards. "I think I'll go see if Papy is up yet...You can keep the costume if you want, you could wear it as a pajama hoodie when it's really cold. Think of it as an early Christmas present, since I didn't really have a chance to get you anything else."

"Oh...Uhm, thank you, I guess." Mina smiled, watching Frisk open the door and head down the ladder, the door being closed behind her. Once Mina was sure the door wasn't going to pop back open suddenly, she shook her head and got out her clothes for the day. An off-white long sleeved shirt with a pale yellow and blue star design along the right side, one of the ones Undyne had brought over, was her choice of the day, along with her usual jeans and a pair of light blue socks. As soon as she was dressed, she made her way back downstairs.

Down in the living room, Frisk was already busy decorating the tree with Papyrus, who was still in his pajamas. The tree had ended up being neglected the day before, the two of them deciding to decorate it themselves while Sans slept. Seeing Mina hurry into the kitchen and hearing the sounds of cabinets being opened, the two of them decided to peer into the kitchen and see what she was up to.

"Sorry, but you two need to stay out. There's not a lot of space and there's going to be even less space when I'm done getting everything out..." Mina sighed, digging into one of the pockets on her jeans and pulling out a small hair tie, pulling her hair into a messy ponytail. "Papyrus, do you want anything for breakfast before I get started? There's some cereal, but if you want something else, I can fix something for Sans, too."

" **OH, NO THANK YOU, MINA!** " Papyrus smiled, shaking his head a little. " **I BELIEVE I'M STILL QUITE FULL FROM LAST NIGHT'S CELEBRATORY SPAGHETTI! AS FOR SANS, HE'S STILL ASLEEP, AND KNOWING HIM HE'LL JUST GO OFF TO GRILLBY'S FOR THAT HORRIBLY GREASE-SOAKED FOOD...** "

"Ahh..Alright then, I guess I'll get to work then." Mina smiled, rolling up her sleeves and taking a last look at the things she had placed on the counter and stovetop. "Let's see...Gingerbread cookie supplies, check. Mint brownie supplies, check...Peppermint fudge supplies, check. White chocolate chip sugar cookie supplies, check."

"You're making a lot of cookies and sweets?" Frisk asked, standing next to Mina for a moment and reaching to take a peppermint candy cane, but stopping as she felt Mina's eyes upon her. "...Ehh, I guess I can't complain."

"Actually, I wanted to make one more thing, but it would be just for the four of us here." Mina stated, opening the fridge and looking in for a moment. "But I want to get the rest of these recipes out of the way first, the other thing will take a long time in the oven..." She sighed, looking at something wrapped in brown parchment paper. "I just...Need to remember my grandfather's recipe...Or improvise."

"What is it?..." Frisk asked, blinking as Mina suddenly turned and started gently shoving her out of the kitchen. "Hey!"

"Shoo, you'll find out later." Mina sighed, cracking her knuckles and heading back to the counter a moment later. "You and Papyrus just stay out there and let me get to work...Oh, and tell Sans to stay out too, please."

"...Fine." Frisk huffed, walking back over to help Papyrus with the tree. "Hey, Papy...Can I ask you something?" She looked at Papy, watching him lean out from behind the tree with a quizzical look on his face. "I kinda want to do something tonight, to surprise everyone...And I was thinking of setting up some little holiday tricks." She grinned, motioning for Papyrus to come closer so she could whisper.

" **TRICKS?** " Papyrus blinked, leaning down and lowering his voice when Frisk gave him a look. "WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO PLAY TRICKS AT CHRISTMAS? SHOULDN'T YOU SAVE THEM FOR HALLOWEEN?"

"Not those kinds of tricks, Papy. These are cute Christmas tricks, like uh...Hiding presents and putting up a few special decorations." Frisk said, smiling mischievously at him. "I want to get them put up for tonight, and I want to surprise everyone...Since no one else knows I'm back, I was thinking you and Sans could invite all our friends to Snowdin to exchange gifts or something."

Papyrus thought for a moment, smiling brightly and nodding to her. "THAT'S A WONDERFUL IDEA, FRISK. I'M SURE SANS WOULD HELP WITH LETTING EVERYONE KNOW, AND AS FOR THE DECORATIONS, JUST TELL ME WHERE TO PUT THEM UP AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE SURE THEY ARE PLACED IN THE PROPER LOCATIONS!"

"Thanks, Papy. I'll give you the decorations in a little bit...Let's get the tree finished before Sans wakes up!" Frisk laughed, smiling sweetly and moving to grab a few ornaments from the box by the tree. "Oh right...I've got a few more questions, Papy, so could you answer them too?" She asked, continuing a moment later. "Just try to keep it down if you do, I don't want the others hearing anything..."

"...OH, ALRIGHT." Papyrus sighed, being as quiet as he could. "WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANTED TO ASK ME?" He inquired, Frisk standing next to him as she decorated the tree.

"So...I know Mina doesn't have anyone she liked back on the surface." Frisk grinned, glancing up at him for a moment. "I kinda need to know, do you know if someone like...I dunno, your brother maybe...Anyone that Mina has met down here, does anyone seem to like her?"

"EVERYONE LIKES HER, SHE'S A VERY SWEET..." Papyrus sighed, realizing what the young girl meant. "...OH, YOU MEAN -THAT- KIND OF LIKE. WELL, I KNOW NAPSTABLOOK HAS PROBABLY SPENT THE MOST TIME WITH HER, ASIDE FROM MY BROTHER AND UNDYNE. OH THAT'S RIGHT, YOU'VE BEEN GONE SO YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW." He paused, leaning and reaching down to pick up another ornament. "DOCTOR ALPHYS AND UNDYNE HAVE BEEN LIVING TOGETHER FOR A LITTLE WHILE NOW, UNDYNE SAID THEY SHOULD, SO THAT SHE COULD KEEP AN EYE ON ALPHYS...THOUGH I'M NOT SURE WHY, EXACTLY."

"I kinda figured that would happen, to be honest." Frisk smiled knowingly, even giggling a little. "I bet they're really cute together...I haven't seen Blooky in a long time, how's he doing?" She asked, remembering the last time she saw the shy little ghost.

"HE'S DOING QUITE WELL FROM EVERYTHING METTATON HAS TOLD ME, AND FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN OF HIM." Papy stated, smiling a little bit. "METTATON BROUGHT HIM TO THE HOUSE THE OTHER DAY, THE DAY AFTER MINA CAME TO LIVE WITH US. BLOOKY HAS BEEN GETTING USED TO HIS NEW BODY, DOCTOR ALPHYS MADE IT FOR HIM ON METTATON'S REQUEST."

"Oh wow, Blooky finally got a body like Mettaton?" Frisk smiled, trying to imagine what her ghostly friend could possibly look like now. "I'll bet he's real shiny now, isn't he? I can see it now, since Mettaton requested it, his body is probably shiny and sparkling." She giggled, shaking her head. "I can't imagine he'd let Blooky have a plain looking body at all."

"HE'S NOT AS SHINY AS YOU THINK, ACTUALLY." Papyrus smiled, picking up another ornament and placing it higher on the tree. "HE DOES LOOK SIMILAR TO METTATON, BUT HIS COLORING IS QUITE THE OPPOSITE. METTATON'S BODY IS MOSTLY BLACK AND PINK, BUT HIS COUSIN'S BODY IS MOSTLY A LIGHT BLUE AND SILVER COLOR."

"Ohhh...I can't wait to actually see him, then!" Frisk giggled, picking up a little silver globe and hanging it from the tree. "But uh...Does he have anyone he likes, that you know of?" She asked, starting to weigh the options in her head.

"I DON'T KNOW...I COULD ASK METTATON LATER, IF YOU'RE REALLY THAT CURIOUS..." Papyrus said, giving the grinning girl a curious look. "WHY ARE YOU SO CURIOUS, THOUGH?"

"Oh, no reason." Frisk said, sticking her tongue out afterwards. "What about Sans? I mean, I know when lived here before, he did sort of like someone, but uh...I don't know how that turned out since I've been gone..."

"...OH, YOU MEAN..." Papyrus sighed, shaking his head. "THAT IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD ASK SANS, IT'S NOT MY PLACE TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT."

"Well, from that reaction, I'm guessing things didn't go quite as expected..." Frisk muttered, frowning for a moment before shaking her head and smiling once again. "So the short version is, Sans doesn't have anyone he really likes like that, am I right?"

"...WELL, I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE IF HE DOES OR NOT, BUT..." Papyrus paused, glancing towards the kitchen for a moment. When he looked back at Frisk, she was grinning widely at him. Knowing more or less what she was about to ask, he sighed and nodded.

"Perfect." Frisk chuckled, rubbing her hands together for a moment. "So, about those decorations...I'll go get them real quick, if Sans is still asleep, you can run out and set them up! That way they'll be a surprise for him, too!" She said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I'll be right back!" With that, Frisk took off up the stairs. When she came back down and handed him a small bag, Papyrus looked inside, blinking and giving her a curious look. Leaning in and motioning for him to do the same, she whispered something, snickering a bit as his face lit up.

" **OH, I GET IT NOW!** " Papyrus exclaimed, smiling brightly as he listened to Frisk's instructions. Afterwards, he took the bag and made his way to the door. " **WORRY NOT, FRISK, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL CARRY OUT THIS TASK TO PERFECTION!** "

A few hours later, Sans finally emerged from his room, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he made his way downstairs. He spotted Frisk sitting near the fully decorated tree, having to take a second glance at the tree when he realized just how many more ornaments were on it. "Kiddo, where did all those come from?"

"Morning, Sans." Frisk smiled, waving a bit at him before looking at the tree as well. "I may have brought a few with me from the surface, I thought you guys would like them." She stated, poking at one ornament in particular. It looked more like a halloween decoration than anything else, a small silver skull with black detailing for the eyes and jaw. "Well, what do you think?"

"Huh...They're pretty neat." Sans smiled, taking a closer look at the ornaments. Some were simple little globes and stars, while others were much more festive, like the few small carousel horses and a small reindeer driven sleigh. "You collected all these the last few years, I'm guessing?"

"Well, yes and no. The family I lived with on the surface, they thought they had to spoil me since...How did they phrase it..." Frisk grumbled, making an annoyed face. "Oh right. 'A delusional underprivileged youth, who needed to be reintroduced to the real world'...They seriously thought there was something wrong with me for a while, like I was living in a fantasy in my head. The worst part about it, they were the most sickeningly nice people I could have ended up with, and they thought they were 'helping' me with my 'condition' by throwing expensive things and holding huge parties for me...That's about all they did, though. There wasn't any love behind their actions..." She sighed, crossing her arms and tucking her knees up against her chest. "...That's why I came back, I honestly couldn't take it anymore..."

Sans sighed as he took a seat on the floor next to Frisk, reaching over and giving her a one armed hug. "Well, Kiddo...You don't have to worry about that here. If you don't want the others to know, I can definitely understand."

"...Yeah. I don't want them to know for now..." Frisk sighed, leaning to one side and resting her head on Sans' shoulder. "Thanks for always listening, Sans..."

"Ehh, don't mention it." Sans chuckled, yawning a little and taking a look around the room. He could hear Mina in the kitchen, wondering for a moment if his brother were in there helping her. Given how quiet the house was though, he quickly realized Papyrus wasn't at home. "Uhh...Hey, any chance you know where Paps is, Kiddo?"

"Oh, he's out on a little errand for me." Frisk smiled, giggling quietly. "I asked him to deliver a few invitations around town and uh...Well, to a few old friends." She said, closing one of her eyes and giving him a playful look. "I brought a bunch of gifts, so...I wanted to give them to everyone tonight. I mean, me being back is a great gift in itself, but I figured they'd all like something from the surface, too."

"Sounds like it'll be quite the night." Sans chuckled,glancing towards the kitchen again. "You gave Mina a fair warning, right? I know she said she wanted to bake some things, but...Does she know how many people you invited?" He asked, giving Frisk a curious look as he stood up. "Actually...Who all did you invite?"

"Well...Everyone, maybe?" Frisk smiled innocently, playing with her hair as she continued. "I mean, I did send special invitations to Grillby and Muffet, so Mina won't be the only one supplying food..." She paused, watching Sans head towards the kitchen. She debated for a moment if she should pass on Mina's message about staying out of the kitchen, but decided it would be more entertaining to watch what happened.

Peeking into the kitchen, Sans was surprised to see how much Mina had gotten done already. A large plate was piled high with gingerbread cookies, another plate next to it was stacked just as high with sugar cookies. Both plates were resting on the counter, the stove top currently occupied by a large pot, the contents bubbling rapidly. "I smell peppermint."

"Peppermint fudge, actually. It's almost ready to turn out..." Mina sighed, setting two large glass baking dishes on the empty part of the stovetop. "I was going to ask Frisk if she wanted to try it, but since you're here..." She paused, quickly dipping a small spoon into the bubbling fudge and pulling it back out, the molten fudge dripping into a small glass of water and forming a little ball at the bottom. "Here, try it quickly." Mina said, quickly scooping the ball of fudge out of the cup with the spoon and holding it out towards Sans. "Let me know if it needs more peppermint, I'm almost out of time to add more."

Sans took a moment to process the scene before him, grinning a little before simply walking over and taking the end of the spoon into his mouth, biting down and gently pulling it out of Mina's hand. "Hmm..." He hummed, reaching to grab the spoon and bringing it back out of his mouth, the familiar blue of his tongue showing as he did. "I think it's fine the way it is, actually."

"o-Oh...t-Thanks, that's good." Mina stuttered, a light pink color coming to her cheeks as she turned her attention back to the fudge. ' _Really, Sans? Was that really called for?'_ She sighed to herself, shaking her head a little as she lifted the large pot and poured the molten fudge into the glass dishes. "I've got the last batch of sweets baking...So once they're done, I'll get started on dinner..."

"This early?" Sans blinked, giving Mina a curious look. "It's uh...Not even lunch time, why the need to start so early?" He asked, tilting his head as Mina pointed to another large empty baking dish, and to a pile of vegetables sitting in a box next to the fridge. "You're really gonna cook all that?"

"There's one more part in the fridge, so...Yeah. It'll take quite a while, that's why I have to start it so early." Mina sighed, finally getting the last bit of fudge into the glass dishes. "The cookies and the rest of the sweets are for everyone, but this is kinda just for the four of us. I...don't really know how well it will turn out, I haven't tried making this in a long time..." She sighed again, setting the pot back on the stove after turning the heat off.

"Well, you haven't burned the house down yet, so I think you'll do fine." Sans chuckled, licking the last bit of fudge off the spoon before sending it flying into the sink. "Since I'm here anyways, want me to taste test anything else?"

"n-No! I mean..." Mina groaned slightly, glancing away when she spotted his tongue. "The rest is fine, just uh...I'll let you know, okay Sans?" She said, putting on a sheepish smile as she reluctantly turned to look at him. As she was about to say something else, she noticed a pair of brown eyes peering at her from the doorway, a mischievous look reflected in Frisk's eyes as the younger girl smirked at her. ' _...What's with that look?'_

"Sans, I'm gonna go lay back down for a while, alright?" Frisk faked a yawn, making sure to hide her smirk as Sans turned and chuckled at her. "Just a short nap, I wouldn't want to share in your bad habit." She giggled, stretching a little and rubbing her arms after a moment. Seeing Mina turn her attention back to the over, Frisk gave Sans a sly look. "I hope it's not too cold tonight, but...I guess it won't be too big of a deal for me, I've got my coat after all. So even if it's really cold, I'll be able to give out all those presents."

"Uhh...Right." Sans blinked, his face going blank as he realized what Frisk was getting at. "So uh, I'll be back in a bit..." He trailed off, looking back at Mina and scratching the back of his skull. "I uh...I told some of the townsfolk I'd help them with something. Think you two will be alright by yourselves?"

"I'm sure we'll manage." Frisk smiled, rubbing her eyes a little and moving away from the doorway. "If you run in to Papy, let him know Toby took one of his action figures outside."

"I think we'll be alright for a while, Sans." Mina said, looking up from the oven for a moment and smiling a little. "Besides, it'll be nice to have some girls only time if you and Papyrus are still out when Frisk wakes up." She giggled, glancing down and spotting Fox standing next to Sans. "Maybe let her tag along with you? She really loves being outdoors, and I know she won't run off on her own."

"Huh..." Sans glanced down, smirking a little as Fox looked up and wagged her tail at him. "Alright, I guess. Come on pup, let's get going." He chuckled, hearing the slight jingle from Fox's tags as she followed right behind him. Seeing Frisk already heading upstairs when he reached the door, Sans just shook his head and chuckled, opening the door and stepping outside with Fox right on his heels.

As if on cue, Toby came running towards the house barking in his usual annoying fashion, Fox letting out a slight growl as the other dog ran right up to her. Shaking his head a little, Sans leaned down and scooped up the little brown dog, sighing as she tried to climb up and lick his face. "Well, guess I'm taking both of you with me now..." Sans smiled, turning on his heels and heading into town with both dogs accompanying him. Looking at the content little dog in his arms, he paused for a moment. "You're a bit smarter than you look, pup...So, what do you say, think you could help me find a good gift?" Seeing Fox look up at him and growl playfully, Sans chuckled a bit, continuing on towards town.

Some time later, Frisk woke from her nap to the sound quiet humming. Sitting up, she spotted Mina putting on a clean shirt, her hair pulled back into a long, messy ponytail. "Mnn...What time is it?" Frisk yawned, rubbing her eyes and looking to Mina as the older girl turned to look at her.

"It's a little after 4PM, you must have really been tired." Mina smiled, holding the shirt she had been wearing earlier in one hand. "Papyrus came back a little while after you came to lay down, but he went back out about an hour ago. He said Sans called him about something...Speaking of, Sans hasn't been back yet." She sighed, holding her hands up and shrugging lightly. "I wonder sometimes if men purposely lose track of the time, Juli seemed to all the time..."

"Who's Juli?" Frisk blinked, glancing at the dirty shirt in Mina's hand as she hopped out of bed, following the older girl out of the room and down the stairs. "And what happened to the shirt?..."

"Papyrus spooked me while I was preparing one of the last parts of dinner, and I just hadn't had a chance to change." Mina giggled, shaking her head. "Everything is either in the oven, simmering on the stove, or sitting in a container on the counter now." She stated, taking a seat against the living room wall and fiddling with her mp3 player, which was on the floor next to her. "As for Juli...Well, he's my brother. It's been a long time since I've seen him, but I have a lot of good memories of him."

"You have a brother?" Frisk inquired, taking a seat next to the older girl and looking at her curiously. "That must have been nice, having someone to grow up with. I didn't really have anyone, you know?" She smiled, resting her hands behind her back and leaning back against the wall. "I loved living down here, I missed everyone so much...So I decided to come back, even if I can't do anything to free everyone..."

"I remember Sans...Well, he told me a bit about when you lived here. I didn't quite understand him at first, but...Rather than stay on the surface running into dead ends, I think it's wonderful that you'd want to come back to stay with everyone." Mina smiled, closing her eyes and sighing softly. "You'll have to forgive me, but...I overheard you and Sans talking this morning, too..." She paused, opening her eyes and glancing over cautiously. "Bit of an old habit...Are you going to be alright?"

"..Please don't tell anyone, alright?" Frisk sighed, tilting her head to look over at the older girl. "So, you know my story...How about telling me yours, so we're even?" She asked, grinning a little as Mina groaned next to her. "Oh come on, it can't be that bad..."

"I told it to you already, last night." Mina frowned, not missing the skeptical look Frisk gave her. "...Or do you mean the story of how I ended up falling down here?"

"Well, you know..." Frisk mused, smirking a little. "I mean, I came back because I missed everyone...What brought you down here?" She asked, propping her left foot up on her right leg. "You seem right at home down here, but uh...I'm sure most people would panic if they saw monsters, even if they believed in them..."

"...When I was a little girl, my brother and I were a little obsessed with monsters and the stories my grandfather told us. Monsters, magic, and in Juli's case fighting...We loved learning everything we could about them, which was easy since my grandfather insisted on collecting everything he could about ancient history and mythology." Mina smiled, crossing her arms for a moment. Just as she was about to continue though, the front door swung open, both girls jumping a little. Seeing a familiar figure stumble past the door, both girls stood up.

"Yo, don't break down the door Undyne!" Kid shouted as he looked back through the door, glancing into the living room real quick and giving the girls a dull look. "Hey uh, Mina, you might want to take the gifts upstairs." He said, staring at Frisk when the girls both gave him a confused look. "You know, the _surprise_ gifts? If you don't want anyone to see them..."

"Oh, right." Mina blinked, smiling a little and turning to Frisk. Giving her a quick pat on the shoulder, she turned the younger girl around and started ushering her over to the stairs, motioning for her to keep quiet when she glanced over her shoulder. "I'll just go hide the surprise..."

"That's it, I'm tired of waiting!" Undyne shouted as she slowly made her way through the door, Mina taking a brief second to look at the growling guest as soon as Frisk was out of sight. She noticed Undyne was struggling to hold something, smiling brightly as she realized her new friend was holding up one end of a couch, the rest becoming visible as Papyrus helped to move it inside. "Where the hell did Sans go now?!"

" **HE WAS ON THE COUCH WHEN YOU OPENED THE DOOR, UNDYNE, HE PROBABLY ISN'T TOO FAR..."** Papyrus sighed, straining to hold up his end of the couch as he moved through the door. With Undyne leading the other end of the couch into the living room, he shook his head, following her lead until they got the couch into place. " **BESIDES, YOU KNOW HE WOULDN'T BE MUCH HELP CARRYING THIS THING!"**

 **"** Remind me why -I- have to help carry this..." Mettaton shouted from the doorway, he and Blooky carrying in a small love-seat that matched the much larger couch. "Honestly, do you even need this part? That couch is large enough for at least five people, and it's only three of you living here..." He grumbled, ignoring the look Undyne was giving him. "I suppose the extra legroom would be nice though, if I happen to come visit my darling Papyrus..."

" **W-WELL, I UH...I SUPPOSE THAT WOULD BE NICE!** " Papyrus chuckled nervously, a bit of color coming to his cheeks. " **MAYBE WHEN ALPHYS IS DONE WITH OUR NEW TELEVISION, YOU COULD COME OVER FOR A MOVIE NIGHT, OR UH...SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I'M SURE MINA WOULD ENJOY THAT TOO, AND IT WOULD GIVE YOU TWO A CHANCE TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER!"**

"...If you say so, darling." Mettaton huffed, annoyed at the mere mention of the human's name. "I'll be she'll be tickled pink...It isn't as if she knows how things work down here, or how much of a celebrity I really am..."

" **ARE YOU STILL UPSET OVER THE OTHER NIGHT, METTATON?"** Papyrus sighed, shaking his head. " **I'M SURE SHE DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOUR FEELINGS, SHE'S STILL NEW AFTER ALL...I'M SURE IT WAS JUST AN HONEST MISTAKE, SHE REALLY DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THE TYPE OF PERSON TO PURPOSELY HURT SOMEONE..."**

 **"** She's really a very nice person, Mettaton..." Blooky sighed, he and Mettaton getting the love seat set down once they had it in place. "You should really give her a chance..."

"He can give her a chance later, right now we're heading back to the lab!" Undyne snapped, her stomach growling loudly as she sniffed the air. "Ugh...It smells so good..." She sighed, ushering both robots outside, Kid following along behind her. "Paps, you better save me some leftovers."

" **I'LL TRY TO, UNDYNE! IF THERE ARE ANY LEFTOVERS, THAT IS..."** Papyrus sighed, shaking his head a bit as Undyne closed the door behind herself. " **SANS HAD BETTER NOT HAVE RUN OFF TO GRILLBY'S..."**

"Whoa, where did you guys get the new couch?" Frisk asked, peering over the railing as Papyrus looked up at her and Mina. "It's really nice...Not from the junkyard, is it?"

"Nope, Mettaton actually had that made for one of his shows." Sans said, appearing next to the girls out of nowhere and causing them both to jump a bit. "Alphys called me earlier, she said the royal guard was gonna help deliver it but uh...They're a bit busy in the capital, so Undyne was the only guard that was nearby enough to help. Alphys threatened to change Mettaton's voice if he didn't help move the couch, so yeah."

"I've been meaning to ask, what happened to the old couch?" Frisk inquired, heading down the stairs with Mina. While the older girl headed for the kitchen with Papyrus, the younger girl and Sans both made themselves comfortable on the couch, the dogs joining them a moment later. "Wow...This thing is comfy as hell."

"Sure is." Sans chuckled, propping his feet up on the end of the couch. "Uh...Right, sorry I took so long. Last minute gifts are hell, I uh...Ended up having to go to the capital to find anything, but in the end I didn't find what I was looking for." He sighed, glancing towards the kitchen for a moment. Hearing his brother and Mina laughing over something, he smiled a bit. "Guess nothing major happened while I was out, but I might as well ask."

"Nothing really, I just woke up a bit ago..." Frisk paused, checking her watch for a moment. "...Huh...It's almost five already? Either my watch is fast, or Mina's is slow.."

"Ehh...Judging by the sounds coming from the kitchen, I'd sooner say her watch is slow." Sans chuckled, listening as Papyrus and Mina shuffled around in the kitchen, the sounds of cabinets opening and plates being set out catching his attention. "Well, kiddo, sounds like we're about to get served."

"...Sans that was bad even for you." Frisk giggled, hopping to her feet and heading to the kitchen ahead of him. "It smells so good, and hey, the house isn't on fire...I'd call this a win for us!"

Before Sans could even move off the couch, Mina and Papyrus emerged from the kitchen with plates in their hands, Papyrus handing one plate to Frisk as Mina made her way over to the couch. "Uh, I was joking about the being served thing." Sans chuckled nervously, sitting up and carefully taking the plate Mina held out to him. "Wow. That's a lot of food."

"There's not really all that much there..." Mina chuckled, shaking her head and taking a seat with the others on the new couch. "Just uhm...Bear in mind, I haven't tried making anything like this in quite a while, so it probably won't taste very good..." She smiled nervously, blinking as she looked between her three housemates. Sans and Frisk both looked at each other, then quickly glanced at Papyrus before nodding to each other. '... _What was that about?'_

Knowing Mina's cooking couldn't be anywhere as bad as Papy's cooking had been before, Frisk and Sans prepared themselves for the worst. Honestly, the food looked better than anything Papyrus had ever tried to make before, even if it was just some roasted vegetables and a beef roast. Sans was no fool though, waiting for Frisk to take the first few bites and watching her carefully. When the girl stopped chewing and looked at him wide-eyed, he sighed and cautiously took a bite, managing to get a little of everything on his fork.

' _They...Must not like it.'_ Mina sighed to herself, watching as Sans made the same face Frisk had a moment ago. Just as she was about to speak, Papyrus reached over and hugged her tightly, as was becoming customary whenever she sat next to him. "p-Papyrus, what is it?"

" **IT'S THIS FOOD, IT'S AMAZING!** " Papyrus exclaimed, his brother and Frisk both chuckling a little as he began rambling on and hugging poor Mina tighter. Finally letting go of the poor girl after a few minutes, Papyrus happily continued with his meal, making sure Mina had a chance to eat her food as well. " **I SIMPLY CAN'T WAIT TO TRY THE REST OF THE THINGS YOU MADE FOR TONIGHT!"**

A little while later, once dinner had been cleaned up and the leftovers were put in the fridge, the residents of the skeleton house started getting ready for the big event. Frisk had gotten Sans to help her carry down the massive backpack filled with presents for everyone, while Papyrus helped Mina with the sweets and baked goods she had fixed during the day. Soon enough, the only light outside was the light coming from all the Christmas decorations, shades of red, green and soft white lighting up all of Snowdin.

As they were about to leave the house, Mina noticed Frisk taking a seat on the couch, tilting her head a little bit. When the younger girl simply grinned at her, she sighed and looked to the others. "...Isn't she coming out with us?"

"Don't worry, we've got a little plan." Sans chuckled, handing Mina his hoodie. "It's uh...Probably gonna be a bit cold out, so here. Honestly, I was gonna pick one up for you, but I didn't think you'd like any of the ones I found. They probably would have been way too big or way too small for you, anyway."

"Well, thank you anyways, Sans." Mina smiled, slipping the hoodie on and chuckling a little. "You tried, at least. I'll find one eventually, so don't worry."

" **SANS, MINA, COME ON OR EVERYONE WILL START WITHOUT US!"** Papyrus huffed, holding the containers filled with cookies and sweets, as well as a small brown paper bag. " **I KNOW SANTA PROBABLY WON'T BE HERE AGAIN THIS YEAR, BUT THAT'S ALRIGHT. I'VE MADE SURE YOU THREE WILL HAVE AT LEAST ONE PRESENT THIS YEAR!"**

"Alright, Paps, we're coming." Sans chuckled, motioning for Mina to go on ahead of him before glancing over at Frisk. "Just let me know when you're ready, kiddo. I'll be back to help in the blink of an eye." He grinned, Frisk giggling a bit as she gave him a thumbs up.

The sounds of laughter and the voices of many people echoed in the air, Mina catching sight of a large crowd gathered near the decorated tree in the middle of Snowdin, smiling shyly as she and the two skeletons walked down the snowy path to join them. There were many faces she hadn't seen yet, and while this scared her a bit, she was comforted seeing all the familiar faces amongst them. She could see Grillby standing near a few tables, seeing him shake his head at a figure wearing a rather cute pink ruffled coat.

Seeing Papyrus walking ahead of her towards the tables, Mina hurried after him, her eyes widening as she realized the ruffles on the pink coat weren't ruffles, but extra sleeves. "o-Oh...w-Wait, are those..." She paused, her face going blank and paling a little as the figure in the coat turned around, five ruby red eyes blinking at her as the figure gave her a fangy smile. ' _Oh god, she's a spider.'_

"Well hello there...You must be the new human I've heard about." The spider said, one of her many hands resting on her hip, another coming up and resting on her cheek. "Tell me, are you the one responsible for the invitations? I was asked to bring some treats for everyone, but Grillby here says I'm not allowed to charge for them..."

"This isn't one of your bake sales, Muffet, you can afford to give away some of your goods for one night a year." Grillby chuckled, seeing Papyrus place the containers down next to some of Muffet's treats and a large punch bowl filled with eggnog. "I see someone has been busy today. I'm not sure too many people will feel up for spaghetti though, Papyrus."

" **OH, IT ISN'T SPAGHETTI. MINA WAS IN THE KITCHEN ALL DAY BAKING THINGS FOR EVERYONE...I HAVEN'T TRIED ANYTHING YET, BUT THEY ALL LOOK REALLY TASTY!"** Papyrus exclaimed, blinking as Muffet took one of the containers and opened it, plucking up a cookie and studying it before taking a small bite. " **MUFFET, YOU COULD HAVE ASKED FIRST!"**

"...It's not bad." The spider girl shrugged, looking back at Mina and giving her a small smile. "You don't need to look so afraid, I don't bite...Often." Muffet giggled, the rest of her hands going to work and setting the now opened containers along the table. "I suppose if you're letting everyone try these free of charge, I can do the same for tonight..."

"Uhm...Right..." Mina paused, smiling nervously at the spider girl for a moment. "You mentioned invitations...I'm sorry, but I didn't send them." She said, blinking as Papyrus suddenly pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, about the invitations...Well, we wanted to make sure everyone had a happy holiday, right Paps?" Sans chuckled, walking out from behind his brother and gingerly picking up a few cookies. "Figured we'd surprise everyone, and it's looking like we've succeeded so far."

Once Papyrus had let her go, Mina had gone around to greet her new friends, meeting many new faces as she did. To her surprise, when she had reached Undyne and Alphys, she presented with a small box. "What's this?"

"w-Well, if you're going to be s-staying down here, it'll help you keep in touch with everyone..." Alphys stuttered as Mina opened the box, smiling as the human's eyes widened at her gift. "i-It's a brand new model I've been working on, it has texting, a camera, a-and you can connect to the undernet with it. I already signed you up and added a f-few of us as your friends, if that's alright..." She trailed off, simply watching as the girl looked over her new phone.

"Alphys, this is amazing, I don't even know what to say..." Mina paused, smiling brightly and leaning down to hug her reptilian friend. "Thank you so much! I wish I could have gotten something for you in return.."

"o-Oh, don't worry about it." Alphys laughed nervously, returning the hug and clearing her throat after a moment. "By the way, do uh...Do you know why the invitation said to bring that?" She asked, motioning towards a black curtain that Undyne and Mettaton were setting up near the tree, the curtain looking to be a changing curtain from one of Mettaton's show sets. "i-I mean, it's a little strange to have that out here..."

"Uhm...Oh, well, it's a bit of a surprise..." Mina chuckled nervously, holding her hands up in front of her. "I can't say just yet...But I'm sure everyone here will enjoy the surprise." She smiled, turning around as she heard Fox and Toby barking, seeing the two little dogs running around as they played with some of the local children. "I thought we left you two at home...Oh well."

A little while later, after Mina had made the rounds and met some of the new faces, she found herself feeling much more comfortable about her situation. All of the monsters who had shown up to share in the holiday event had been nothing but nice to her, and she soon found her shyness vanishing as she talked to each of them. As she talked to some of the bunnies and the dog guard couple, she saw Sans take out his phone, tilting her head a bit as he walked over to Mettaton and said something to him. Moments later, said robot was dragging her towards the tree, Mina being at a loss for words as she stumbled along. "w-Wait!"

"Darling, I have been waiting all night for this!" Mettaton grinned, proceeding to drag Mina up onto a small stage, which had been set up next to the changing curtain. Pulling a microphone seeming out of nowhere, the flamboyant bot began to address the crowd. "Greetings, Darlings! I hope you've all been having a wonderful time at this little get-together, but I believe it's time to get things started! The idea behind this was for everyone to exchange gifts, after all...Even if it -was- on such short notice..." He coughed, glancing at the human next to him as she nervously stared at her feet. "...Anyway, our new little 'friend' here, has a special surprise for everyone!" Pausing for a moment, he gave Mina a smug grin. "Go ahead, open the curtain, I'll bet everyone is just dying to know what -you- could have possibly gotten for all of us..."

"i-I..." Mina bit her lip, looking out at the crowd and blinking for a moment, seeing Sans giving her a thumbs up as he stood next to the large backpack that Frisk had been sitting next to at the house. Seeing him nod at her, she smiled brightly, walking over to the curtain and grabbing the cord. "I hope you all like it...Merry Christmas!" She laughed, pulling on the cord and listening as the monsters all began cheering and shouting, some even starting to cry as Frisk stepped away from the curtain.

Even Mettaton could hardly contain his excitement, his bottom lip quivering as Frisk turned and walked over to him. "-Another- human? Well, Darling, you look familiar enough, but just to be sure..." Mettaton trailed off, grinning a bit as he pulled out the invitation he had received. "Let's see if you can answer this little question, a simple multiple choice question." He paused, leaning down a bit and calmly reading the question that had been printed on the invitation. "Would you smoo-"

Before he could even ask the question, Frisk posed dramatically and interrupted him. "Oh Mettaton! How could you even consider asking me such a thing? Please, don't finish that sentence, I'll simply show you my answer!" Frisk giggled, suddenly hugging the baffled bot and giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "Of course I would smooch a ghost, I told you this the last time I was on your show, didn't I?"

"Oh. My. GOD! Frisk, it is you!" Mettaton screeched, throwing his arms around the girl and spinning her around. The crowd went wild with cheers, except for one slightly annoyed looking armless guest standing near the eggnog. He simply mumbled to himself, tucking something into his shirt with his tail before moving away from the refreshments. When one of the two little dogs growled at his feet, he rolled his eyes and simply pointed towards the stage with his tail, more specifically pointing at Frisk. "Yo, it's her idea, not mine." Kid whispered, chuckling a little bit. "Not like anyone here is gonna drink it, they'd all rather have some of Muffet's Cider, even Frisk knows that."

With everyone gathering around Frisk, Mina was starting to feel a bit crowded. A sudden tug on her sleeve from Frisk caught her attention, and she saw the girl pointing towards a small bench across from them, a little archway above it keeping the falling snow from covering the seat. "Why not go rest for a bit? I'm sure you're a bit tired of standing around out here in the cold, and I know you don't do too well with so many people..."

"o-Oh, yeah...Thanks, Frisk." Mina smiled, carefully making her way through the crowd. She had to admit, she was feeling a bit tired of standing out in the cold, her legs still needing rest from all the walking she had done in the kitchen all day. As she sat and closed her eyes, she listened to the monsters as they continued to celebrate Frisk's return, smiling a little as she heard some of them laugh with the girl. "I'm glad they're all happy..."

"Well, of course they're happy." Sans chuckled, Mina jumping a bit as he took a seat next to her on the bench. "Hope you don't mind if I join you, kinda just letting them all do their own thing...Besides, I've been teleporting around all day myself." He grinned, seeing Mina smile a bit as she shook her head. "They needed this...Probably the best gift you could have given them, I think Frisk knew that. Might be why she set this all up, actually."

"It was really sweet of her to include me..." Mina sighed, still smiling as she closed her eyes again. Hearing the crowd die down a bit, she opened one eye and saw Frisk running over to the large backpack, motioning for the others to join her as she unzipped it and took out many small wrapped gifts. When Sans didn't go to join the others, Mina gave him a curious look. "Don't you want to see what she got you?"

"Nah, she gave me my gift before I brought her out here." Sans chuckled, pointing at his shoes, or more specifically at the brand new pair of striped socks he was wearing with them. "They're pretty comfortable." He said, grinning a little as Mina giggled at him. Hearing someone whistle from the gift-giving crowd, he glanced over and tilted his head, seeing Frisk and Mettaton both giving him a thumbs up. Normally he would have just chuckled at the gesture, but the looks on their faces told him something was up. Slowly glancing up, Sans spotted what Frisk and the robot were grinning about, a small sprig of mistletoe hanging from the archway above the bench.

"Sans?..." Mina hummed, glancing back and forth between the crowd and the now quiet skeleton, deciding to look up as well and blinking slowly. "...o-Oh...u-Uhm..." She trailed off, giggling nervously as she shifted her gaze to her feet. "...i-I kinda forgot about that particular holiday tradition."

"I swear, someone is going to have a **bad time** later." Sans muttered quietly, turning his head to look at Mina for a moment and spotting the bright blush covering her cheeks. "It uh...It's just a silly tradition, we don't have to...Y'know." He paused, blinking as Mina opened her eyes and gave him a shy glance.

"i-It's fine...i-I mean, it doesn't really count as a gift, but..." Mina paused, looking back at her feet for a second as she spoke. "w-Well, i-I mean...A way for me to thank you for all this..." She paused again, looking as if she were pouting as she glanced at the crowd, a few of the monsters whistling at her and Sans. "..Not thrilled about the audience though."

' _Oh. My god. Is she serious?'_ Sans thought to himself, glancing over at the crowd for a moment and nodding to himself. "Yeah, I know the feeling...But hey, that can be fixed." He grinned, his right hand lighting up with magic as he snapped his fingers. The changing curtain came flying over from behind the crowd, Sans chuckling a little as Frisk and Mettaton yelled in protest. With the floating curtain blocking them from view, Sans looked back over at Mina, a hint of blue color on his face. "Better?"

"y-Yeah, b-better." Mina squeaked, taking a deep breath and scooting over a bit. As Sans started to lean over a bit, she started to wonder just how this would work, remembering that Sans was a skeleton. Remembering a few other things, she found herself blushing even brighter, mentally berating herself and deciding to simply go with the flow, closing her eyes as she turned her head.

' _Shit...This is really happening. Frisk, you're dead later.'_ Sans thought to himself, trying to keep his thoughts from wandering as he leaned down to kiss Mina. He knew it probably felt a bit different for her, but the fact that she didn't freak out and actually returned the kiss made him smile inwardly.

"That's cheating, Sans!" Frisk shouted, grabbing the changing curtain just as the blue glow faded around it, the curtain falling and revealing a very shy looking Mina blinking at Frisk and the others who had gathered around the bench. "..Uh...Hey, Mina...Where'd Sans go?"

"...He's around." Mina mumbled, looking around for a moment before slowly standing up and making her way to the refreshments tables. "s-Sorry, I uh..I'm gonna get something to drink."

While everyone else laughed and continued celebrating, Sans found himself laying on the roof of Grillby's bar, a stupid grin plastered on his face as he sighed. "...That really just happened." He chuckled to himself, resting his hands behind his head as he looked up at the falling snow. As he stared at the snow, he listened to the sounds of the people below, chuckling a little and sitting up a while later as his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. "Figured you'd be texting me sooner or later..." Sans sighed, seeing Frisk's name on the screen. Flipping his phone open and clicking on the little envelope next to Frisk's name, he tilted his head and began reading the text.

" 'Sans, was going to wait and send this later, but since you cheated and snuck away, I think I'll send it now. You can thank me later! -Frisk'...What?" He blinked, another message coming in from Frisk. Almost as soon as he clicked on the new message, Sans' face turned a bright blue color, the lights in his eyes vanishing at the sight of the image on his screen. Clicking his phone off and closing it, he resumed his previous position on the roof, the only difference now was his hoodie was pulled up to cover his face. All he could do was hope Frisk didn't have anymore shenanigans planned for the night, knowing that if she did, he may end up being the one to have a bad time.

*.*.*

Bonus: Diary of a Dog #2

Some time after the celebration had died down and everyone had returned home, Papyrus found himself almost tripping over a small pink notebook, half hidden under his race car bed. It was open and seemed to have been chewed on a bit, Papyrus realizing Toby must have gotten his paws on it. Curious as to the kind of writing that was on the page, he took a glance at it, but ultimately decided to close it when he couldn't understand the writing. If he had been able to decipher it, he may have read the following two entries.

 _Date - 23, 12, 20XX_

 _Dear Diary, I apologize to you! I let that obnoxious little white dog get a hold of you, and now the corner of your cover is ruined! I am so sorry, I have been so busy the last few days, I simply didn't notice...Anyways, I suppose I should tell you how life has been since my companion and I moved in with the local monsters. Honestly, it has probably been more interesting for my companion, all of the monsters down here seem to sincerely enjoy her company. They are nothing at all like the savage creatures of human legend and lore...They're almost more human than most actual humans my companion and I have met._

 _Well, most of them at least. There is one in particular that seems to have it out for my companion, this...Mettaton or whatever his name is...He actually had the nerve to insult my companion, in front of several other monsters! If I hadn't been so tired after searching for that wretched little flower all day, I would have dismantled him myself. Luckily for me, the shorter of the two skeleton monsters, the same one who helped my companion in the ruins, decided to take care of the situation. I do wish I had been able to witness what actually happened, but whatever it was seemed to have tired him out, as he eventually passed out in my companion's lap after he returned to the house. Knowing he'll be this protective of my companion has given me a bit of relief, knowing while I am out hunting the flower fiend, she'll be safe. Speaking of the flower, I actually was able to track it down after some effort. I managed to catch it off guard as well, though I regret to inform you that I only managed to wound it slightly before it escaped under the ground._

 _Lastly, my companion is no longer the only human in the underground. Our new roommate, Frisk, is an interesting person to say the least...She reminds me very much of my companion, specifically the odd feeling I get from her. While I do have a theory on this, I do not have enough evidence just yet..._

 _Date - 24, 12, 20XX_

 _Dear Diary, today was quite interesting. I haven't sensed that flower around ever since my confrontation with it, though I swear I caught his scent in the laundry..._

 _Today was Christmas Eve Day, and though most of the day was dull and uneventful, the evening was quite interesting. Frisk made her grand entrance with my companion's assistance, and soon afterwards there was some commotion involving my companion and the short skeleton...I suppose I should start using his name, shouldn't I? Well, it seems something happened involving a small twig of some kind, I never really understood such silly holiday traditions, and honestly I was too distracted with sneaking a bit of some of the refreshments to notice what was going on._

 _After the commotion, Sans had vanished and my companion decided to get some refreshments for herself, including a large glass of eggnog. Unfortunately, I had no way of warning her that it had been tampered with by the armless lizard monster we met before, and my companion has never had very much tolerance for alcohol. Thankfully, unlike some other humans, she doesn't make a fool out of herself when intoxicated. She did find it a bit hard to stay standing after a while though, as did some of the other monsters who shared in the eggnog. When it was time for everyone to return home, Papyrus had offered to help her walk, but he was soon carrying Frisk on his back. It seems the younger human also drank some of the eggnog, and she was a bit of a mess...I would have carried my companion home myself, but it is better than no one find out what I am, less they may distrust my companion._

 _Thankfully Sans appeared, wasting no time in picking up my companion and carrying her on his back. He and Papyrus made it a bit of a game, to see which 'team' could make it back to the house sooner. Of course Papyrus accepted this challenge and ran on ahead, leaving Sans and my companion chuckling as the shorter skeleton simply walked towards the house. My companion seemed to enjoy the calm walk home, as she fell asleep before Sans was even halfway home. It was rather cute, now that I think of it...Especially when my companion hugged Sans in her sleep, and his face turned a bright blue. I shall write more tomorrow, for the moment I need sleep. My stomach is simply too full for me to do anything other than sleep. Until tomorrow, my dear diary!_


End file.
